


Slade's Baby Bird

by HaleysCircus



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Brainwashing, Diapers, Gen, Humiliation, Infantilism, Non Consensual, Spanking, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-23
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2017-12-15 21:50:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 49,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/854409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaleysCircus/pseuds/HaleysCircus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slade has trapped Robin once again. Only this time, he decides to take a rather...different approach.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Slade's Realization

Robin woke up in a dark room, or at least it seemed dark, but that was probably because of the blindfold over his eyes. He sat up, shifting a little and frowning at the sound it made. He reached his hands out and felt bars. Was he in a cage? Had Slade put him in a cage? The last thing he remembered was being electrocuted by Gizmo until he had reached unconsciousness and being handed over to Slade.

He sighed tried to feel up the bars, but his hands were restrained by what felt like leather straps. He growled and kicked wildly, trying to escape. He froze when he heard familiar footsteps approaching his prison.

"Oh good, you're awake." The masked man said.

"Slade!" Robin hissed. "What is your big plot this time?"

"No plot, Robin. I have come to my senses." Slade replied.

Robin almost let out a laugh. "You? Come to your senses? That's crazy all on it's own." He stiffened as Slade's gloved hand wrapped around his neck.

"You are too confident, boy. You are in no position to be laughing at me." Slade growled in a low voice.

"Oh yea? And why is that?" Robin spat. He felt the hand leave his throat and relaxed slightly. He wished he could take the blindfold off; it would be much easier to assess the situation.

"I have come to...a realization." Slade continued.

"Uh-huh." Robin said, pretending to sound interested.

"The world is a dangerous place, full of bad people." The older man stated.

Robin let out a laugh. "Is that so?" He asked sarcastically.

Ignoring the teen's mocking, Slade kept talking. "Much, much too dangerous for a boy of fourteen."

Robin froze. "I'm sixteen."

"Is that what you've been telling them? Hmm, amazing that they fall for it." Slade murmured.

The boy wonder scowled angrily. "Get to the point."

"You are here to learn a lesson, Robin. You are too young to be fighting adults. It's too dangerous and you are just a little boy. You could get hurt." Slade commented.

"Excuse me?" Robin snarled. He hated when villains made fun of him because of his age.

"You heard me, Robin. I have taken the liberty of disposing of your uniform. You won't need it anymore." Slade said before ripping Robin's blindfold.

Robin's eyes squinted, adjusting to the light. He looked around and gasped. He was sitting in a bright, colorful room. It was large, but not too big, with red, green, and yellow painted walls. He realized that he was actually sitting in a crib, which was a horror all on it's own. He also noticed a changing table, a bookcase, a toy chest, a rocking chair, and playpen. He got a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach and dared to look down at his own clothes. Just like the room, his clothes were the colors of his uniform. He was wearing red overalls with a green and gold striped Rugby shirt. His breathing began to quicken as he felt a thick diaper between his thighs. He wasn't sure what was more humiliating. The possibility that Slade had seen him naked or the fact that he looked like and oversized baby.

"What did you do?" He cried, glaring furiously at Slade.

"Made you into what you really are. A little boy." The villain replied.

"If you expect me to go along with this, you're insane!" Robin snarled furiously. He began to yank at his restraints.

"You will do everything I tell you, Robin. You are in no position to argue." Slade replied calmly.

"You son of a bitch! You fucking bastard!" Robin screamed. He never swore, so this was big for him. Suddenly, his jaw was grabbed roughly and squeezing as he was forced to look at Slade.

"Little. Boys. Don't. Swear." The man said. He stood up straight and grabbed a syringe off of the changing table.

Robin saw it and backed up to the top of the crib, prepared to kick Slade in the face.

"Don't make me restrain your feet, too." The man sighed.

"Get away from me!" Robin snapped.

"Look, I was kind enough to let you keep your mask. Do not make me take that privilege away." Slade warned.

Robin froze. Suddenly, he began to realize just how vulnerable he really was.

"Now hold still." Slade ordered.

Robin obeyed, very reluctantly, as Slade injected him with a clear substance. He calmed once the syringe had been taken away and was surprised when he was released of his restraints.

Before he could even relax, Slade had scooped him up. "Put me down!" He ordered.

Ignoring the young hero, Slade set him down in the playpen and walked out of the room.

Robin frowned in confusion. That was it? No restraints? No torture? Just leaving him in an oversized playpen with no supervision? Of course, knowing Slade, there were probably cameras. Still, why was the man making it so easy to escape? Robin looked around cautiously before bringing himself to his feet. To his dismay, they immediately buckled down from under him, sending him crashing back down.

"Shit." Robin muttered. Slade had given him a muscle relaxant, and a very strong one at that.

Knowing that he was screwed for a while, he looked around. He found a couple of picture books, as well as a Batman plushy. Nice, Slade. He thought dryly and tossed it aside. He sighed and grabbed a picture book, simply looking at the pictures at first. He went back and read it, then set it down before getting another.

He didn't know how much time had passed until Slade reappeared. Robin immediately dropped the Look-n'-Find he was studying and glared up at the man. "Have your fun?" He asked.

Slade didn't reply, simply picking him up again and carrying him to the rocking chair. Much to Robin's embarrassment, he sat the small boy down on his lap and stuck a bottle in his mouth. Robin pulled away and opened his mouth to protest, only to have the rubber nipple forced back into his mouth. He glared at Slade, but caught sight of the dangerous glint in the man's eye and kept quiet, reluctantly sucking down the smooth, creamy liquid.

It wasn't his fault. He didn't want to fall asleep, really. The formula was warm and soothing as he sucked on the bottle. It didn't help that Slade had started to rock in the chair. Robin hated it. He knew that the man was trying to humiliate him and as his eyelids drooped, he had to admit that Slade was doing a pretty good job.

By the time the bottle was empty, Robin had fallen asleep, his head against Slade's chest.

Slade smirked behind his mask and carried his little bird over to his crib. Everything was going as he expected to, and a lot quicker, at that. He set Robin in the crib and stuck a pacifier in his mouth before pulling a blanket around him and tucking a teddy bear into his arms.

Robin accepted it instantly and suckled the binky.

Slade let out a soft chuckle, amused by how the tables had turned for Robin. It was hard to believe that this slumbering, diaper clad angel had been beating down Jump City's criminals just this morning. Oh yes, this was definitely the way to go. This way, he could easily control the boy with comfort, while humiliating him the way torture never would. A beating would simply strengthen the boy. This destroyed him from the inside out. He just didn't realize it yet. He'd know soon enough. He had some promises with the HIVE 5 and Red-X that he needed to keep.


	2. It's All About Humiliation

Robin woke up the next morning and sighed, when remembered where he was. He didn't know how long he'd have to stay here, and wished the Titans would find him soon. He looked down at what he was wearing and grimaced. On the other hand, nobody needed to see him dressed like that.

He sat up and froze. His blood ran cold with dread as he squirmed experimentally. "No, no, no, no, no, no! Please no!" He begged to nothing. He slipped a hand down his overalls and turned the shade of tomato.

"This is impossible!" He whimpered to himself. It must have been something in the formula, or in the syringe. There was absolutely no way that his bladder had just decided to do whatever it wanted. Nevertheless, the proof was there and he couldn't deny it.

He tried to fight his blush down as he heard Slade's footsteps in the hallway. The man could never know about what he had done. He would rather sell his soul to Trigon than sit there and admit to his arch-nemesis that he had soiled himself.

Slade entered the room, with another bottle and approached the crib. "Good morning, Robin." He said without emotion.

"Let me go." Robin ordered. He was scared of Slade's reaction if he found out, though he was guessing that the man expected it to happen, given the current situation.

Slade eyed the boy. He was rather fidgety, and by the look of his overalls, he was definitely in need of a change. He grinned behind the mask. This would be absolutely wonderful. He leaned over and lifted Robin out of the crib, placing a hand under his bottom.

Robin flushed furiously, hoping that Slade didn't notice the change in the diaper. He struggled in Slade's arms, having gained a small amount of his strength back. Unfortunately, it was not enough.

"You seem rather uncomfortable, Robin." Slade observed. "Is everything alright?" He walked over to the changing table and sat the lean boy in top of it, making it look like he was simply putting him down to talk.

Robin cleared his throat and glared at him. "Absolutely fine." He growled.

Slade sighed. He didn't feel like dealing with this, but instead would let Robin learn the hard way. "I will ask you this once, and once only. If you do not respond truthfully, you will have to wait until either lunch, after your naptime, or before bed. Do you require a diaper change?"

Robin's face heated up and he thought it was going to burst. "Of course not!" He snapped defensively. He turned away from Slade and scowled in embarrassment.

"Very well, then." Slade nodded. As promised, he did not ask again. He simply carried Robin back over to the chair and repeated the process of feeding him his bottle. Having a little more of his strength meant Robin was free to kick and hit all he wanted. However, Slade was all business and quickly had the boy under control, leaving Robin to snap and growl at him for the rest of the time.

After breakfast, Slade had left Robin to entertain himself with various toys and books. He had not put him in the playpen, deciding that he would be fine playing on the room's soft carpet. Obviously, with the liberty to search and look around, Robin used the time to look for means of escape.

Around ten, Robin felt that aching urge in his bladder again and sighed. He knew he could hold it. He had done it many times while on missions. The question was, was it necessary? The way he saw it, he would be wetting the diaper either way. Holding it would mean risking having Slade see him turn into a sobbing, desperate mess. On the other hand, if he just went now, he'd be giving in to Slade. It would simply prove that he really was just a baby.

Robin sighed. Maybe there was a bathroom in here. Too weak still to walk, the teen did something that he would only do in private. He crawled around the room, looking for any doors that might lead to a lavatory.

His heart leaped with joy when he located one near the back of the room. It was impressively large, with an old-fashioned porcelain tub that had feet, and a separate stall for a shower. He nearly cried in relief when he spotted a toilet on the far end of the bathroom and scurried over. He approached it and attempted to lift the lid up. It wouldn't budge. Frowning, he tried again, tugging it up harder, but it still refused to lift up. All of his relief drained from his body when he saw what looked like a child safety, only Slade had upgraded it with a combination lock.

"Are you kidding me?" Robin cried out. He miserably returned to the main room. Robin refused to call it a nursery. With a sigh, he flopped down on the carpet and tensed his thighs.

It had been almost an hour, according to the clock. That's all Robin had been staring at. He was currently sitting up and cross-legged with one of his shins pressing against his groin. He tried to take deep breaths and focus on controlling himself. He could do this; he just needed to focus.

His concentration was interrupted when Robin heard the door swing open and the cold metal mask stared down at him. "Hello, Robin." He spoke in a monotone.

Robin kept his head down until he had fought off another blush. "Slade." He said evenly.

"Are you hungry?" The man asked. To Robin's surprise, Slade set down a plate in front of him with some baby carrots and a sandwich that had been cut into fourths. He also noted a sippy cup of apple juice and his cheeks tinged pink.

Robin tentatively grabbed a carrot and bit into it, feeling uncomfortable under Slade's gaze. It also made him squirm more. Before he knew what was happening, the teen was lifted off of the floor and back onto the changing table.

"I am going to leave. You have two minutes to empty your bladder before I come in and force you to." Slade said firmly. "Like it or not, Robin, this is happening."

Robin blushed furiously as the man walked out. He hated this, this, humiliation thing that Slade had going on. He sat on the table, his feet dangling off for two minutes.

When Slade came back in, he immediately knew that Robin had defied his orders. He swiftly laid the little bird down on the table and unhooked the overalls before yanking them off of Robin completely.

Robin gasped in surprise and yelled in protest, writhing beneath Slade's iron clad grip. "Don't!" He practically begged.

Slade didn't answer and placed a hand over his bladder before pressing down hard. He placed his other hand on Robin's already wet crotch, waiting for him to go.

Robin let out a cry and covered his face with his hands as his bladder released and soaked his diaper. His face was a deeper red than it had ever been before, and he tried to curl up in attempt to hide the quickly expanding baby garment.

Once he had finished, Slade placed Robin in his back and untaped the diaper, once more ignoring Robin's pleas for him to stop. He pulled the front of the diaper down and assessed the damage before very professionally cleaning the young boy's diaper area.

Robin thought he was going to die of embarrassment, or at least cry. How had he, Robin: Boy Wonder, gone from beating up guys three times the size of him to getting a diaper change from his worst enemy? He squirmed as powder was sprinkled onto his groin and a new diaper was taped onto him snugly.

"Don't you have people to do this for you?" Robin scowled, trying to fight back tears of shame.

"Yes, but this amuses me so much more." Slade replied, gently holding Robin's chin. "I have absolute power over you. Even if you escaped right now, I'd still have hours of footage that I would be more than delighted to share with fellow criminals. How humiliating is it, Robin? How shameful is it for you to be as helpless as a little baby, relying on me to make sure you don't get diaper rash?"

Robin quickly turned his head away as a few tears escaped and rolled down his cheeks. He swiped them away with his hand before he was being lifted up once more, and set back in front of his lunch.

The rest of his afternoon was rather uneventful. Robin finished his lunch and was once again left to amuse himself while Slade worked. Around three, Slade returned, though this time, his sleeves were rolled up and his gloves were missing.

"You need a bath." That's all he said to the boy. This time, though, Robin had to be dragged. His wild kicking would not allow him to be picked up.

"Screaming and kicking, Robin? Have you really regressed to childish tantrums so soon?" Slade said, his voice slightly mocking.

Robin glared at him with rage. He tried to hit back as his shirt was removed, and then his diaper. He blushed wildly and tried to cover himself.

"There's no need for modesty anymore." Slade told him. "Babies are not modest."

Robin muttered a few Romanian curse words that he had picked up from the circus. Suddenly, he saw a hand reach for his mask and scrambled back. "No!" He said sternly.

"You need to take it off or it will morph with your skin. You may have it back after your bath if you are good." Slade said in a voice usually reserved for toddlers.

Robin shook his head wildly. "Over my dead body." He snarled.

Slade sighed. "You are trying my patience, little boy."

"I am not a little boy! I am a teenager, almost fifteen!" Robin snapped. It was no use lying about his age. Slade already knew.

Slade didn't reply to that. Like ripping off a band-aid, he tore off the boy's mask and dropped him in the tub of warm water.

Robin squeezed his eyes shut and covered his face with his hands. Soon, he felt soothing hands on his back, washing away any dirt. The hands moved to his shoulders and he couldn't help but relax.

"Look at me, Robin." Slade ordered gently.

"Why should I?" Robin asked in an upset tone.

"I'll see them sooner or later." The older man sighed. "Stop being stubborn."

Robin shook his head, refusing to let Slade see his eyes.

"Then at least give my your arms." The man grumbled. He took Robin's left arm and gently scrubbed it before doing the other one. "Would you like to explain why your entire body is shaved?" He asked.

Robin blushed. "Wounds, friction." He mumbled.

Slade nodded in understanding. "Legs up." He instructed.

Robin sank into the water and propped his legs on the edge of the tub, relaxing at Slade's surprisingly soothing touch.

Slade watched the boy in amusement and gently washed his face with a separate cloth. He chuckled as he poured a jug of water over Robin's head and received a surprised squeak in response. "So much gel." He murmured to himself as he lathered up Robin's hair with baby shampoo. Once his hair was clean, Slade made quick work of the boy wonder's privates and drained the water out of the tub.

Robin shivered at the cold, his eyes wide as he started at his feet. A towel was wrapped around him and he was lifted out of the tub and tried off. He grumbled when his hair was dried and it hung down in a crazy mess.

"Babies don't put gel in their hair." Slade reprimanded, glad his mask hid his face from the shock of Robin's eyes. To say they were beautiful was an understatement. They were a sparkling baby blue and so full of innocence. He carried Robin out to the changing table and diapered him once more, ignoring his protests.

Robin sat up on the changing table and watched Slade search through a drawer. "Here." The man said, holding up a footed sleeper that matched the color of Robin's eyes.

Robin blushed. "Why can't you just beat me up like a normal villain?" He whined.

Slade chuckled. "This is much more entertaining." He replied, forcing Robin into the outfit.

Robin huffed angrily as he was laid down in the crib and then tucked in by Slade. Though he did have to admit that the pajamas were soft and warm. He decided to let it go for now, he was pretty tired. Yawning, he sleepily cuddled a teddy bear and fell asleep.


	3. Play Date With the HIVE

He never should have fallen asleep. He was starting to wake up a little from his nap, where he was still dreaming but aware of what was happening around him. That was when he heard the snickers and giggles. Confused, Robin opened his eyes, squinting to adjust to the light. He was still hugging the bear, and amazingly, the pacifier had remained in his mouth. As he woke up, the giggling got louder and he rubbed his mask-less eyes as he slowly sit up.

"Shhh, he's waking up." Heard someone say.

"Aww, isn't that precious?" Another, more mocking, voice asked.

Robin shook his head and finally looked over at the source of the voices and froze in mortification.

Now that he was awake, the teens could not contain their laughter and howled hysterically at the image in front of them.

"Well isn't that adorable?" Jinx giggled.

Robin blushed furiously, backing up until he was at the end of the crib. This was a nightmare.

"How is he not trying to escape?" Gizmo asked.

"Dummy, didn't you listen to what Slade said at all? He can't! The muscle relaxant allows minimal mobility only." Jinx rolled her eyes.

"Whoa! Guys! Look at this!" Mammoth gasped. He was pointing to Robin's face, which the boy had quickly covered with a blanket.

Mammoth yanked the blanket away, revealing Robin eyes, much to his horror.

"Oh man, who knew Robin had the eyes of an anime character?" Jinx snickered.

Robin blushed furiously and glared at them. "Go away, now."

"Now, Robin, is that any way to treat guests?" Slade asked as he entered the room.

Robin glared at him. "Why are they here?"

"Well, I promised them that they could see the result of their hard work." Slade replied. "However, I will not treat you any differently than I already have simply because of their presence."

Robin wanted to go curl up and die as the three teens smirked at him maliciously. He didn't think things could get any worse until Slade had picked him up out of the crib and carried him over to the changing table. His insides filled with dread as he realized what was going to happen.

"Because you are not capable of telling me when you have soiled yourself, I shall be checking from now on." Slade stated.

Robin couldn't stand the giggles that resulted from Slade's announcement. He would never be able to live this down. He covered his face with his hands as Slade removed the sleeper and inspected the crotch of his diaper.

"Jinx, would mind fetching me a clean diaper?" Slade asked.

Knowing what that meant, Jinx grinned with glee and nodded grabbing a diaper off of the shelf and handing it over to the man. She stepped back and watched in amusement with her friends as Slade changed Robin's diaper, much to the boy wonder's chagrin.

Slade slipped a shirt on over Robin's head before sticking the pacifier back in his mouth and setting him on the carpet. "Play nice, Robin." He instructed before leaving.

The second he was gone, Robin ditched the pacifier, only to have it shoved back in his mouth a few seconds later.

"Ah ah ah…." Jinx smirked.

Robin glared at her, blushing bright red.

"Aww is the little pants-wetting bird boy embarrassed?" Gizmo laughed.

"Shut up!" Robin growled, spitting the pacifier out again.

"Be nice, baby, or we'll have to put you in time out." Jinx grinned.

Robin was getting sick of the laughter. His hand shot out and grabbed Gizmo's ankle, sending him crashing to the floor with a yelp.

"Bad, baby!" Mammoth growled, picking him up by the back of his diaper.

Robin let out a shriek of pain and kicked the large villain in the jaw. He prepared himself to be dropped and immediately got to his knees, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon.

"Robin!" Slade roared from the doorway. The boy froze and turned to look at the man as he scooped him up and dropped him in the playpen.

Robin shouldn't have felt any fear, but for some reason, he couldn't help but back up as far as he could when Slade approached the playpen again.

"I told you to play nice, Robin. You will apologize to them for your behavior. I will return to fulfill your punishment later." He said before leaving the room again.

Robin let out a frustrated growl and glared furiously at the three criminals, daring them to say anything.

Jinx, who felt not at all threatened by a hero in diapers, walked up to the playpen with a devious grin. "Aw, did baby get in trouble?"

"Serves you right!" Gizmo chimed in. "I hope Slade beats the crud out of you."

Robin sighed. "Listen. I will do anything if you help me. Whatever you want, I'll get it for you. Just please help me escape."

"What's this? Robin, the fearless leader of the Teen Titans is asking, no, begging for our help?" Jinx smirked.

"Yea, what happened to brave, fight no matter what, Robin?" Gizmo asked. "Or did Slade scare it outta ya?"

"Shut up!" Robin growled. "This is sick and wrong. You know that. I know you do."

"I bet the big baby likes it." Gizmo snickered.

"He's probably lying, just like when he lied about his age." Mammoth laughed.

Robin's face fell and he blushed.

"Don't even try tellin' us you're sixteen. None of us believe that crud." The younger boy scoffed.

Jinx chuckled. "He had me fooled. All this time, I've been two years older than him and here I thought I was younger."

"I wonder what the city would do if they found out." Mammoth commented.

"He could definitely say bye bye to his fancy bike." Jinx scoffed.

"They'd probably send him back to Gotham with his big bad daddy Bat." Gizmo sneered.

"Like Batman would want him back. He'd be a total embarrassment." Jinx scoffed, letting out a yelp when a book hit her in the head.

"All of you just shut up!" Robin snarled furiously.

"Ooh, watcha gonna do? Pelt me with blocks?" Gizmo jeered.

"Jur pe Dumnezeu, dacă nu al naibii de nu mai vorbim acum, va voi bate până te trezeşti într-o respiraţie spital printr-un tub!" Robin screamed at them.

"What the heck is he saying?" Mammoth frowned.

"Lasă-mă în pace! Eu va scăpa şi vă voi aduce în faţa justiţiei!" Robin hissed.

"Whoa. He's not speaking English." Mammoth said.

"No duh, stupid. But what's he saying?" Jinx asked.

"Sounds like a load of crud to me." Gizmo stated.

"It is a regression." Came a familiar voice in the doorway.

"What?" Mammoth asked.

Slade ignored him and walked over to the playpen. He caught Robin's tiny wrists in his hand and held them firmly while he injected a blue fluid into his neck. The boy was unconscious instantly, carried by the masked man and set in the crib.

"As Robin's mind adapts to the current situation, he will start to feel…younger. His actions and reactions, as well as his mindset will regress, until he truly believes that he is nothing more than an infant. All of his memories, ambitions, and mature feelings will be stored deep in his mind, only coming out if triggered. However, the trigger must be strong." Slade said.

"So…he just regressed?" Jinx asked.

"In a way, yes. Romanian is his first language, though his English was learned at a young age. However, his anger took over and he regressed back to using his native tongue, unable to express himself through the second language." Slade explained.

"That's cool." Gizmo grinned, earning a hard nudge from Jinx and an irritated glare.

Slade didn't reply as he stared at his sleeping captive.

"It is time for you to leave. I have a meeting soon and don't need any distractions." He stated.

"What? But this is fun!" Gizmo argued.

Slade turned and gave the young boy an icy stare that had all three of them leaving without another word.

Turning back to Robin, he covered the boy with a blanket and replaced the pacifier in his mouth. Then, he turned and silently walked out of the nursery to await Red's arrival.


	4. Seeing and Being Red

Slade was sitting in front of his monitor when a dark blur dropped down from the ceiling with nothing short of absolute silence. It stealthily lurked in the shadows, watching the criminal mastermind.

"I hope that wasn't your best. I thought you were Mammoth." Slade commented.

The thief walked out of the shadows and into the light.

"So full of compliments today, aren't we, Slade?" He replied sarcastically.

Red-X approached the man, who had now stood up.

"So where is the little brat?" He asked.

"Asleep. You're just in time. I still owe young Robin a spanking."

Red laughed. "For what?"

"Attacking those three students from H.I.V.E. Academy." Slade sighed.

"Nice." The thief chuckled.

"He has already shown signs of regression. Did you bring what I asked of you?" Slade questioned.

"Right here." Red answered, patting his belt. He grinned. "I also picked up something for the tyke."

Slade pressed the tips of his fingers together. "Well why don't you go give it to him?"

The echoing of footsteps in the hallway roused Robin. His stomach lurched when he realized that Slade had somebody with him, somebody with very light footsteps.

He got on his knees and spat his pacifier out, trying to find something to mask his face. When the door opened, he grabbed his teddy and buried his face in its stomach, making Slade's guest chuckled.

"Robin, stop your foolishness. We have company." Slade ordered.

"Go to hell." Robin spat. He yelped as strong hands lifted him out of the crib and carried him over to a stool.

"I was going to be merciful and save your spanking for later, but little boys who do not obey and use foul language get no such favors." Slade scolded.

Robin blushed furiously from his spot in Slade's arms and looked up, coming face to face with an all too familiar mask.

"Long time, no see." Red smirked from behind the mask. He seemed to be studying Robin. "Hm, blue eyes. Never woulda guessed."

Robin hung his head in shame as Slade sat on the stool and laid the young boy over his lap.

"If you feel the need to empty yourself, I recommend doing so now." Slade told him.

Red snickered at Robin's reddening face.

"I don't." He said through gritted teeth.

Slade responded by unsnapping the bottom of Robin's sleeper to reveal his pristine white diaper.

Robin let his shaggy black hair fall, giving his face a little coverage as his diaper was untaped and pulled out from under him.

"Twenty, Robin. I expect you to count. If you don't, I'll double it." Slade hissed.

Robin bit back a frightened whimper and nodded, bracing himself for the first smack and trying to ignore Red, who had made himself comfortable in the rocking chair where Slade gave him his bottles.

Suddenly, a rough, firm hand made contact with his bottom and Robin was surprised to note that Slade had removed his glove.

"One." He mumbled.

Slade held him down and spanked him again.

Robin fought back a whimper. "Two."

Slade carried on like that, making sure to get the entire area of Robin's ass, including his tender sit spot.

By ten, Robin was counting though tears. His cheeks had turned a faint red and the boy had started to struggle.

By fifteen, Robin was howling with every smack to his bright red arse, squirming desperately as he bawled his eyes out.

He was wailing out sixteen when he felt spreading warmth from under him that consumed Slade's lap and dripped onto the floor. Slade froze and all that could be heard was Robin's sobbing and the splattering sound of urine dripping onto the floor.

Slade quickly finished and picked Robin up roughly.

"That was very naughty, Robin." Slade scolded angrily.

He pulled the boy over to a corner and forced his head forward so that it was toughing the wall.

"Do not move." He hissed.

Robin cried his eyes out as he listened to him walk away, then Red's amused laughter.

"That's what you get for taking away the diaper." Red giggled.

Robin's face burned, though not as much as his bottom, which felt like it was on fire.

He cried softly into the corner, the pain too much to bear. He didn't even careabout the humiliation of his tomato-red cheeks being on display for anyone who walked into the room.

He could honestly say that Slade's spanking had been more agonizing than anything he had ever experienced, and he had gone on a date with Kitten.

Robin listened as Red-X chatted idly while Slade cleaned up his mess, then left the room to change into some clean clothes.

He sighed. It was just one more thing to be ashamed of.

Robin must have zoned out a little, because the next thing he knew, his tiny body was being lifted onto the changing table, on his stomach.

He blushed furiously, hating how casually the two criminals talked while Slade removed his gloves once more and dispensed something cool and slick onto his bottom. He realized it was baby oil and hissed in pain as Slade started to rub it in with surprisingly gentle hands.

However, the pain gradually lessened, though didn't disappear, and the boy wonder began to find the gentle touch relaxing. To his embarrassment, he started to doze until he was abruptly flipped onto his back, making him whimper as his bottom made contact with the mat.

"Sorry to interrupt your catnap." Slade said in a mocking tone.

Robin didn't respond. The crying and spanking had taken a lot out of him.

"It's not polite to sleep in front of company." Red-X chimed happily as he watched Slade clean the dried urine off of Robin's front.

The Boy Wonder sighed and stared at the ceiling while Slade diapered him and tugged a t-shirt over his head.

Slade picked him up, and to his amusement, the slender boy rested his head on the older man's shoulder.

"Tired already?" He cooed. "You just had a nap."

For the first time since he had gotten there, Robin turned to Slade and gave him a pleading, exhausted look.

There must have been some mercy in the man, because Robin found himself being set in the crib and tucked in.

"Let him sleep while we talk." Slade told Red. "He'd be bored anyways."

Red-X sighed in disappointment as he watched Slade slip a pacifier into Robin's mouth and stood, following him out of the room.

"Nighty-night, baby bird." Red sneered as he left, not that Robin heard him.

The boy was already asleep.


	5. A Chilling Reality

"So uh, what exactly do you plan to do? It won't be long before the other titans or even the Justice League come looking for him." Red-X said as the two villains stood in the meeting room.

"I have prepared." Slade replied.

Red stared at him, waiting for him to continue until he realized that Slade had no intention of revealing his plans to him. "What now? You just gonna turn him into a baby? Then what?"

"Simple, I raise him as my apprentice." Slade replied, earning an "of course" from Red.

"The kid's strong, Slade. He won't break easily." Red told him.

"I am aware of Robin's strong sense of morality and virtue. A little too strong, if you ask me." Slade said.

"So, what are you going to do, Mr. I-have-a-plan-for-everything?" Red asked.

Slade was silent for a long time. "I think it's time I tested out some new inventions."

Robin woke up a few hours later and coughed, wincing when his throat responded with a raw, aching pain. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and looked around in the darkened room to see that he was alone. Finally, this was his chance to escape. He listened carefully for any footsteps and began to feverishly pile up ever pillow, plushy, and bunched up blanket in the crib. Then he clambered on top of it and swung one leg over the railing of the crib, then another. Carefully, he let himself drop to the ground with a soft thud and shakily stood up before going right back down. Robin sighed; looks like he was crawling. Keep and ear open for anyone coming, Robin crawled towards the door and tried the doorknob, not completely surprised that it was locked. He huffed, looking around for any other ways out of the room when he spotted the very tip of a large vent behind the changing table. He hurried over and examined the screws. They required flatheads and his picture books were too floppy to do the job. He examined the room for anything else he could use and stopped, his eyes resting on the pile of blocks by the bathroom door. Smirking, he scrambled over and grabbed one before returning to the changing table. With as much strength he could muster, the boy moved the piece of furniture away from the wall until he was grunting and panting with effort. Once it was far enough away that he could squeeze his tiny body through, he took the finely carved edge of the wooden block and set it in the screw. A quick prayer for luck and he tried to turn the block. When the screw budged slightly, he let out an internal sigh of relief and grinned, going faster. It took about four minutes to remove all four screws and once the vent was removed, Robin slipped into the duct.

It was fairly big, much like the ones in Titan tower, so Robin crawled through them with ease. Now if only he could figure out where the ducts went. It would be ideal to find a way out of the building completely, wherever he was, though in his opinion, a phone or a pair of clothes would work just as well.

As he wandered through the ducts, he couldn't help but worry about what Slade would do when he realized that Robin had escaped. Ten minutes or so later, Robin got his answer when a blast of freezing air hit him like a punch and almost knocked him back. He bit his lip and urged on against the horrid, restless breeze of icy wind that blew through the metal ducts that were growing rather cold themselves. Several more minutes passed and the temperature of the vents had dropped severely so that Robin was shivering uncontrollably and was unable to stop and rest, for the freezing metal of the ducts hurt the bare skin on his legs.

Suddenly, a faint puff of warmer air hit him and he snapped his head around and froze is in his tracks, ignoring the pain. Another tiny breeze hit him and he immediately scrambled down the duct, desperate to warm his hands and feet, which were starting to turn blue. He never even considered that he might be falling into a trap, just desperate to warm his frozen insides and numbed skin. He saw a vent at the end of the duct, glowing a warm and inviting orange. He sighed, his breath appearing in front of him as he hurried to the vent and pushed on it hard. To his surprise, it broke away easily, causing him to stumble out and hit the floor. He got up, still shivering violently, only to collapse back down again. The cold had taken a strain on him and he gasped at the pain that wracked through his body from the sudden change in temperature.

"Oh, the poor baby." He heard someone cooing. "Slade, that was mean."

"Well I wasn't about to go in after him." The masked mastermind replied.

"Still. He didn't even have a chance. It was so pathetic, I actually feel bad for the kid."

"Not the worst thing to ever happen to a child." Slade shrugged, scooping the limp boy up in his arms. "The speech filter I installed into his throat should be responding with the chip in his brain by now. Now all we have to do is wait."

"You might wanna… uh…" Red said awkwardly

Robin listened, unsure of what he was talking about until he felt the warmth between his legs. His icy cheeks now burned in embarrassment, but he found that he was too exhausted and pained to fight Slade's hold. He sighed. He was defeated for now. Maybe after a long nap he'd try again. Yea, exactly, only next time he'd prepare for whatever Slade through his way. Right after a nap. Robin thought to himself as his eyes drooped shut once more.


	6. The Naughty Little Boy

Robin woke up a little later and found that not only was he back in his crib, but the vent had been bolted shut. He let out a sigh of relief, however, to note that he wasn't in pain other than a tender soreness in his throat. He clambered onto his knees and tugged himself up using the bar of the crib. His diaper hung sopping wet between his legs but he struggled to ignore it. The room was silent and he didn't see Slade anywhere.

Anger welled up inside him. He was sick of this game that Slade was playing with him. He felt like a child playing hide and seek with an adult: Slade knew exactly what he had planned, but let him think he was being clever anyway. Robin grunted angrily and grabbed the bear from his crib, chucking it across the room. Then he threw the blankets, the pillows, even the sheets until he was sitting on the bare mattress. Frustrated, he pushed his legs out at the wooden bars of the crib and pulled at the fabric of the mattress. As he yanked, he heard a ripping noise and looked down in surprise. There was now a large tear in the mattress stuffing and a spring sticking out. Oh boy.

Slade chose at that time to enter the room and Robin quickly sat down on the tear, knowing Slade would flip if he found it. He watched a little nervously as the man looked from the pile of bed linens strewed across the floor, over to him, then back to the piles. "Rough sleep?" He asked rhetorically.

Robin simply nodded, then opened his mouth to speak, but Slade beat him to it. "Is your diaper wet?"

Robin blushed deeply and didn't reply, looked down at his lap red-faced. He was pretty sure that if he shook his head, Slade would just check anyway. He chose to stay silent instead. He felt Slade's strong hand tug at the crotch of his romper, the buttons popping as they unsnapped. He opened his mouth to protest but instead of the rather rude outburst he had planned in his head, an immature whine escaped instead. His eyes widened and he seized his throat as Slade took his hand away to watch the reaction. Robin tried to say something, anything, but the only sounds he could make out were cries, whines, whimpers, grunts, and other primitive noises. Horrified, Robin turned to Slade and looked at him in confused panic. Small whimpers were the only noise he could make to express his distress.

"Poor Robin." Slade stated before reaching his hand down to Robin's crotch again and tugging the fabric down to check the diaper. As soon as he saw the yellowed disposable, he scooped Robin up, freezing when he noticed the rip in the fabric. "Naughty baby." He tsked, carrying the boy over to the changing table. Robin trembled slightly, unable to even verbally defend himself. He couldn't even beg his way out now.

Slade laid him down on the changing table and pushed his romper up. Robin felt the rush of cold air on his privates as his diaper was untapped and pulled down. It was pulled away and once more Robin was forced to go through the humiliating process of having his knees pushed to his chest as Slade wiped his bottom. Once his genitals were also clean, Robin was lifted slightly for a fresh diaper to be pushed under his bottom and finally the light dusting of powder coated his groin. He sighed and lied there as Slade finally taped up the baby garment and snapped his romper. Robin moved to get up, but Slade pushed him back down, having more planned for the boy.

"Robin, you mustn't destroy your things. It isn't nice." Slade said, flipping him over onto his stomach. Robin gasped and let out a grunt of pain as Slade tugged his arms back behind him, cuffing them together in a pair of handcuffs that were covered in a soft, plushy material. Then he grabbed an ankle bar of the same style and locked Robin's ankles in them. They weren't too far apart, only about six inches in length. With that, Robin was scooped back up and dropped into the crib, wincing at the impact. Then Slade threw a blanket over him and left, leaving Robin in the crib, mostly unable to do anything but squirm with his face pressed against the bare mattress. Despite this, the blanket did give him a small sense of security and coverage, helping him feel a little less vulnerable in his position.

Robin let out a few grunts as he writhed around on the mattress and squirmed in a desperate attempt to get up. His body rubbed up against the mattress and he noticed it in some places more than others. He blushed and tried to move again, and his cock stirred at the friction as it rubbed against the diaper. He let out a small moan and listened to make sure Slade wasn't coming back. Once he was positive he was alone, he rutted against the mattress again and blood swelled in his member until it was straining against the confines of its soft prison. He panted, moving faster as pleasure coursed through his body and it got to the point that he was humping the mattress like a dog during mating season. He let out a cry of pleasure as he came into the diaper and went limp, panting softly as he came down. However, before he could even relax, the door swung open with a loud bang, making Robin jump in surprise. He was yanked out of the crib and dropped roughly on the changing table. Robin's eyes widened and he cried out pleadingly, but Slade ignored him as he ripped off the diaper and stared down at the skid marks. "Filthy little boy." He hissed.

Robin turned dark red as Slade aggressively pulled him over to the rocking chair and he grunted in pain when he was thrown over Slade's knee carelessly. He let out a cry as an onslaught of smacks rained down on his ass.

"You naughty, dirty, baby!" Slade growled. "Little boys don't touch themselves in such a naughty place!"

Robin sobbed as Slade blistered his ass and he tried to kick his legs, but he was still restrained. He cried and whined out desperately, wanting to beg and plead with the villain, but all he could do was howl and bawl as he received the beating. Once Slade had finished, he was dropped onto the floor still naked from the waist down.

He looked up at Slade, tears streaming from his eyes. Instead of diapering him or rubbing soothing oil on his bottom or anything like that, the man surprised him by removing the restraints and leaving the room. Robin stared in disbelief as Slade left him crumpled and sobbing on the floor, unable to do anything but weep and wallow in the pain and humiliation that had just been served to him in the form of a sharp, stinging smack to his bottom. He stared at the door for a little bit longer, unsure if Slade was going to come back. When it became evident that he was not, the boy looked around, unsure of what he should do next.

He spotted his teddy bear nearby and sluggishly reached out for it, giving the plushy a tight squeeze. It actually surprised Robin how comforting it actually felt. He held onto it in a constricting hug and lied down on the carpet, his head resting on one of the pillows that he had thrown. He was still crying, but it was a lot less noisy and messy now.

As he lied there on the floor, he stared at his thumb peeking out of the bear's fluffy fur. If the teddy bear had helped calm him down, he wondered if that would too. He slowly lifted his thumb up and slipped it into his mouth, sucking on it carefully. At first it felt awkward against his teeth and his thumb tasted weird, but as his saliva softened the skin, he became accustomed to it. This time, he didn't fall asleep. He simply lied on the floor and cuddled his teddy with his thumb placed firmly in his mouth while his puffy red eyes watched the door.


	7. Fucking Walker From Hell

What seemed like hours later, a pair of black boots appeared in Robin's line of sight. He glanced upward fearfully at the man who now seemed like more of a giant than an opponent that he'd want to fight. He didn't know when his view of Slade had changed and it scared him a little.

"Robin? What do you have to say for yourself?" Slade asked almost mockingly.

Robin opened his mouth and let out a small whimper, then closed his mouth.

"I'm waiting." Slade hummed.

Robin clambered to his knees and looked up at the cold mask pleadingly. "Mmm. Aaahhheeeeee." He managed to sound out a few vowels and prayed that Slade would understand.

"What was that?" Slade asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Come now, Robin. Use your big boy words."

"Aaaahheeeee." Robin repeated.

"You're sorry?" Slade asked.

Robin nodded quickly, glad that Slade understood what he was saying. He was rewarded with a pat on the head before being picked up and carried to the changing table. Only as Slade was taping him up in a thick diaper did Robin realize the shame he had just brought himself. This was getting absolutely ridiculous. He was fourteen years old for Christ's sake! He was respected and honored hero who had just begged for Slade's forgiveness using stupid baby talk! Enough was enough. He tested his muscles a little, moving his limbs around a little and was surprised to feel that the sedative Slade had given him was almost completely worn off. Nevertheless, he lied still, not wanting to be injected with more of the drug.

Robin's eyes darted over to the open door and then to the table lamp beside them and he quickly came up with a plan. He waited until Slade had taped up his diaper and snapped his romper before attacking. He yawned and stretched out, feigning fatigue. His wrist brushed the lamp and at the last snap, Robin seized the lamp and bashed it into the side of Slade's head. The man faltered back and Robin saw his chance. He rolled off of the table and hit the floor. He never even glanced back as he sprinted down the hall. He turned a corner, then another one, and another one, hoping Slade had lost him. He heard the sound of someone coming and ran into the nearest room, which Robin recognized as Slade's "lair." He crawled up the wall and clung to the bars as footsteps grew louder. His heard pounded in his chest and he held his breath.

"Hey."

Robin yelped in surprise and fell from the bar, still a little clumsy from the injections, landing right into Slade's outstretched arms. His eyes widened and he desperately tried to get away, but it was no use. "I underestimated you, Robin. Here I thought you'd lost your fire. I will not make the same mistake twice." Slade told him.

Robin sighed and looked up as he heard hysterical laughter from the ceiling. Red-X leaped down, doubling over as he howled. "Did you see his face? I thought he was gonna shit his pants! Ah, man, that was too funny!"

"Yes, yes, very humorous." Slade murmured, running a hand over Robin's hair as the boy glared at Red. "Now would be a good time to show Robin what you have brought him."

Hearing that, Robin looked up in surprise. Red-X had gotten him something? What?

"Prepare yourself." Red-X said dramatically. "For you, I have stolen and assembled the greatest, most hilarious contraption of all time!"

"Enough, Red. Get on with it." Slade growled.

"Buzz kill." Red muttered as he opened up a large box and pulled out…a baby walker.

Robin's jaw dropped. No way. Absolutely not. There was no effing way that Slade was going to put him in that hell roller. First of all, the thing was just his size and bright blue. There was a seat inside with leg holes and little wheels surrounded the bottom so that he could move at an extremely boring pace. On top there were nobs and buttons to turn and twist and spin, usually used to teach babies coordination. Robin felt like he was going to be sick.

"What do you say, Robin?" Slade asked, knowing full well that Robin couldn't say what he was truly feeling, let alone to express his gratitude.

"Do you like it, baby bird? If you don't, speak up now, or I'll assume you love it. Hm? Say Uncle Red, I don't like it." Red-X said, smirking from behind the mask.

"Aaaaah oooh!" Robin whined out while shooting Red a poisonous look.

"I'm sorry? I don't understand baby talk." Red replied.

Slade carried him over to the walker and lowered him into the seat while Robin kicked his legs desperately. To his immense embarrassment, his feet didn't quite touch the floor. His toes could just brush against it if he tried. He tried to hoist himself out of the seat, but Slade strapped him in. He couldn't he topple it over because of the wheels. He let out a frustrated growl as he tried to figure it out, failing miserably.

Red-X was dying, unable to control his laughter even if he tried. "That was so worth ordering, even if it did cost me money!" He gasped.

Robin glared at him furiously, his face growing red.

"What is it, diaper boy? You want to come at me? Well I'm right here. Come on." Red-X encouraged, patting his thighs as if he was beckoning a dog.

Robin kicked his legs and twisted, heaving his body forward to try and move the awful walker, but all he managed to do was turn in a circle.

Slade watched on as Red-X unraveled on the floor in a fit of laughter. "Are you recording this? This is fucking hilarious!"

Robin growled and snapped at him fiercely, obviously not agreeing to that. He scowled up at Slade and held his arms out.

"Do you want to get out?" Slade asked him in a voice reserved for small children. Even he couldn't hold back a small chuckle at Robin's endearing performance.

Robin nodded quickly and stretched out further.

To Red's disappointment, Slade picked Robin up and out of the world's worst invention and looked him over. "I think it's time for dinner." He commented before carrying Robin back to the nursery.


	8. A Bed Bug

It had been about a week now since Robin had disappeared. At first, the Titans figured he had gone out on an "independent mission" like he did sometimes. When he didn't return to the tower after a day, the Titans tried to shrug it off as Robin visiting Gotham. After four days, the Titans had gone on a city wide search and checked with every single Titan across the country. After a week they were desperate enough that they even started questioning minor criminals and villains. None of them had seen him either, only stopping to say something rude before one of the Titans scared them off.

The ninth day of Robin's absence, the Titans' search was cut short when an alarm went off, signifying a robbery. They rushed over to the coordinates sent to their communicators, only to find the Hive 5 robbing a convenience store.

"Seriously? We so do not have time for this!" Cyborg said angrily as they charged into the store.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do?" Beast Boy snapped as they entered.

"What's the matter? Got your panties in a knot 'cause Robin's gone?" Gizmo smirked.

"Do you know where he is?" Starfire asked, flying up into his face. "Please! Tell us where friend Robin has gone!"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." Gizmo cackled. "But you crud munchers aren't gonna find out!"

"Besides, I don't think you goody goodies want to find him." Jinx smirked.

"It's pretty awful." Mammoth laughed.

Starfire's eyes blazed green and she grabbed the front of Mammoth's shirt roughly. "Tell me where Robin is!"

"Hmmm, nah." Mammoth smirked, throwing her aside.

"Over your dead bodies." Gizmo jeered before charging at Cyborg on his high-tech spider legs.

Robin woke up in the middle of the night soaked in sweat. At first he thought his diaper had leaked, which would have been extremely humiliating and hard to explain. He sat up and heat pulsed through his body and underneath his face, making him feel so hot that he was cold. He sluggishly crawled to the end of the crib to try and escape the unbearable, smothering heat of his blankets. A wave of nausea churned in his stomach and pressed against the back of his throat and he let out a small whimper. He felt pressure building in his head and he was almost sure his head was going to pop. Robin pressed his head against cool bars of the crib and felt his stomach lurch again. Then, suddenly, he was emptying the contents of his stomach all over his blankets. In the darkness of the room, he couldn't see it, but he could definitely feel it. It covered the front of his footies and it pooled and splattered on his blankets.

He coughed in distress and gagged before vomiting again. He never heard Slade enter the room or walk over to him. As he lurched forward once more, he did feel gentle fingers steadying his head.

"Let it all out, Robin." Slade instructed. "Better to get it all up now than try to hold it in."

Robin obeyed, heaving and letting out strangled coughs as he threw up everything that was in his stomach. After a little, he dry heaved, having nothing more to dispose of and gasped, shaking uncontrollably. Once he was done, he felt himself being lifted and carried to the bathroom and positioned in front of the toilet. Robin leaned weakly against the toilet, his head hanging over the bowl as he panted, his breathing exhausted and weary. Slade kept the light off, which Robin was immensely thankful for seeing as how he felt like his head was going to burst.

Slade turned on several night lights in the bathroom, creating a peacefully gentle light before turning on the faucets of the bath tub. He walked over to Robin and carefully unzipped his footie pajamas, pulling them off and leaving them in a ball on the floor. He wiped Robin's mouth off the best he could and carried the limp, shuddering boy over to the warm bath before delicately setting him in the water.

Robin rested his head back and closed his eyes tiredly, too weak to care about being naked or weak or whatever in front of Slade. He felt soothing hands press a cool wash cloth to his forehead and groaned softly.

Slade lathered a sponge up with soap and gently washed Robin's flaming hot skin. He scrubbed away the smell of vomit and sweat before washing Robin's hair while servants cleaned up Robin's crib. His hands ghosted over Robin's tiny, quivering legs and tried to still them, but chills wracked the boy's body without pause. "Sit up." Slade ordered, picking him up out of the tub and wrapping him in a towel. Robin was still too shaky to stand, so Slade sat down on the toilet lit with Robin propped up in his lap. His head rested against Slade's chest with his wet hair soaking his shirt. Slade didn't mind though, and gently patted him dry with the towel. In a way, Slade couldn't help feeling like a real parent. Up late with a sick baby who was too weak to be independent and needed Daddy's help. It was admittedly endearing.

With Robin still wrapped in a towel, Slade hoisted him onto his hip and carried him into the nursery, laying him on the changing table and taking the towel away. "Hold still, Robin." He instructed as he grabbed some lube and squirted a dab onto his fingers. "I need to take your temperature."

Robin whimpered at the sound of that when he caught sight of the rectal thermometer Slade was using. Usually he'd kick and yell and fight until he was either restrained or defeated, but right now, it wasn't in him to protest. He felt like he had just coughed up his innards and he just wanted to rest.

Slade slicked up the thermometer with lube and placed a firm hand on Robin's stomach, making sure not to press down. He waited until the boy stopped squirming before moving his hands to his small pale thighs and spreading them apart. He felt Robin squirm nervously and shushed him, rubbing the inside of Robin's right thigh to sooth him. "Just stay relaxed." He slowly pressed the thermometer into Robin's hole, shushing his whimpers and steadying his hips as he squirmed in discomfort. He pushed it all the way in a kept it steady while he waited for a reading. Once it beeped, Slade checked the number and slowly pulled it out. "102.8. Looks like you have a fever." He rubbed Robin's thigh once more to keep him calm so that he could slide a diaper beneath his hips. Once he had taped Robin in a thick, heavy-duty diaper, he dressed him in a light cotton onsie and left him lying on the changing table while he grabbed a bottle and filled it with Pedialyte and nausea medication. He heated it up and returned to Robin, scooping him up and carrying him to the rocking chair. He sat down and settled Robin in his lap, handling him as if he may fall apart any second, though at the same time keeping his hands firm and unshaking. He cradled Robin in his arm with his head back against his chest once more and his legs resting on his lap, bent so that he was curled into him slightly. Holding on strongly, Slade began to rock and slipped the nipple of the bottle into Robin's mouth.

"Such a good boy." He stated softly, his soft, low voice actually welcome in the silent room. It was soft and gentle and husky. It gave Robin something to focus on as he sucked on the bottle with his hands gripping Slade's shirt.

Halfway through his bottle, Robin started to doze and Slade helped along the process by rubbing his back and hair. He stayed in the chair, rocking a little less now and holding the bottle steadily until he was absolutely sure that Robin was asleep. Satisfied with his work, Slade pulled out the bottle with a little resistance from Robin's still-suckling mouth and replaced it with a pacifier. Then he picked him up and was extremely prudent in not waking him as he lowered the young boy into the clean, newly made crib, it had been refitted with new identical blankets and restocked with copies of the plushies that had been in it before. He laid Robin down and tucked one of the bears-the one that Robin had taken a liking to-and placed it in his arms. Then he pulled the blankets up to Robin's chin and made sure he was completely comfortable before standing up straight and peering into the crib.

Robin was so precious. An innocent little boy in need of a daddy: playing dress up in a cape and mask and hopping around with his friends challenging every bully during playtime. He was fragile. He was Slade's.


	9. Quiet! The Baby's Sleeping

Robin slept late the next morning and the entire lair was quiet. Slade had ordered complete and utter silence while his sick birdy rested. With the stomach bug he had, he was going to need a lot of rest and antibiotics. When the boy finally did awaken, he was so weak and shaky that Slade didn't even need to drug him. He could barely sit up to eat, not that he wanted to. Instead, Slade picked him up and once he had changed his diaper which luckily was not as gross as it could have been with a virus, he cradled Robin in his arms with a baby bottle of chicken broth that he had mixed the antibiotics in with.

Robin was absolutely white and the bags under his eyes were prominent on his exhausted face. His eyelids were constantly hooded, as if he was just about to doze off. He was extremely weak and trembling, shivering and sweating at the same time. Fortunately, his temperature remained below 104 degrees Fahrenheit. He remained in his onsie, his thick diaper peeking out from the leg holes. His head rested against Slade's chest and he wearily suckled on the bottle. The room was quiet and calm with Slade patiently holding the bottle steady with one hand and Robin with the others. It was times like these that Slade had multiple arms so that he could brush Robin's floppy, sweat-soaked hair out of his face. All in all, it was filthy work that Slade didn't usually concern himself with, but for now he didn't mind.

Suddenly the door flew open, making Robin jump and Slade look up, disrupting the peace. The silence was broken and Robin began to whimper miserably. "Hey Slade!" Gizmo's voice, which seemed much more obnoxious now called out. "The Titans are still trying to find bird boy!" He walked into the room with Mammoth and Jinx. The trio took one look at Robin in his babyish position and started to laugh, only this time, Slade wasn't laughing with them.

"Did I invite you here?" He asked calmly as he shushed Robin and ran his fingers through the boy's hair before sticking the bottle back in his mouth. Robin slowly began sucking on it again and Slade could tell that while he was too sick to care about most things, getting mocked by the Hive 5 wasn't one them.

"Um, no, but we thought you'd want to hear about it." Jinx shrugged. She smirked. "The Titans are a mess without Robin, just like the first time. They're strategies are mediocre at best and they-."

"Did anyone say you could enter the nursery?" Slade interrupted her.

"What?" The sorceress asked in surprise. "N-no, but-."

"But? There is no exception. You are not to come in here without invitation." Slade scolded, keeping his voice calm to avoid upsetting the dozing boy on his lap.

"Geez, what's the big deal?" Gizmo rolled his eyes. "Who cares if we wake the stupid baby up from his nappy time?"

"I do." Slade said dangerously quiet. "Robin is sick and I'm trying to fix it. You three bursting in here like the rowdy, irritating idiots that you are is not helping."

Gizmo started to laugh again. "He's sick? That's the problem?"

The laughter rang around the room and Robin groaned, his head pounding painfully. "Ahhoowww." He whined, keeping his eyes shut.

All three started to laugh until Slade shot them a dangerous glare that shut them up. "Listen to me." He hissed. "Robin is sick. He is miserable. You asses coming in here and being obnoxious with your loud voices and annoying laughter is not helping. Now you either shut the fuck up or get out. Understand?"

The trio nodded quickly and stiffened at Slade's tone. They watched in amused silence as Robin finished the bottle and made a small whining noise. Slade started to reach for something on the floor near the rocking chair but there was nothing there. He sighed and picked Robin up and set him down in the play pen. "Watch him for a minute. If something happens, call for me."

Jinx nodded and watched Slade leave before turning to Robin with a smirk. The boy lied down in the playpen with a plush animal in his arms. "So you're Slade's little baby now? Hm? What happened to the big bad Robin?" She cooed mockingly.

Mammoth laughed. "Always knew he liked it. The freak."

Robin let out a small moan.

"Whassat, baby?" Jinx cooed. "Tell Jinxy what you want."

"Aaaaoooooooo eeeeaaaaaoo." Robin replied and the others howled with laughter that made Robin's head throb. He whimpered and buried his face in his plushie. He wasn't in the mood. Thankfully, he heard Slade snap at them again before picking him back up and taking him back to the crib where a second bottle was fed to him. This time it was just water with vitamins and nutrients that Slade had mixed in, resulting in a slightly off taste that Robin didn't mind. He slowly suckled the rubber nipple and cool water filled his mouth and slipped down his throat refreshingly. It was nice until hot flares started up again and his face felt so hot that it was actually cold.

Apparently, Slade had been expecting this because at the first whimper of discomfort, a cool wash cloth was pressed to his forehead and Robin let out a grateful noise. He heard Gizmo let out a noise of utter disgust and ignored him, keeping his eyes shut as he was cared for by the surprisingly gentle hands of his arch enemy. Now if only the three villains would shut up.

It seemed as though Slade agreed because after a moment, he lost his patience and pointed to the door. "Out." He said quietly. "And I don't care if the Teen Titans are assassinated. Don't bother me unless I invite you to."

Robin winced at the sound of that, but otherwise didn't move. He drank half of his bottle before taking his mouth off of the bottle and burrowing his face into Slade's chest. Once again, the man wasn't wearing his breast plate, which Robin was extremely grateful for. In a way, it almost made Slade seem…mortal, human. It was a welcoming thought. Mammoth, Gizmo, and Jinx left, grumbling about the "stupid baby" and "Slade's a jerk" and just all around pouting. Once they had left, Slade turned off the lights, which was much more welcoming to Robin's eyes. He kept them closed still, but now at least it wasn't burning his retinas. He felt himself wet his diaper and hardly gave it a second thought as warm wetness spread under his bottom and between his thighs until the diaper was sodden and pressing against the snaps of the onsie. Slade picked him up and automatically walked to the changing table, where he made short but careful work of cleaning and diapering Robin. Then he carried Robin over to his crib and wrapped him in a number of blankets. Robin whined in protest, already sweating feverishly, but Slade shook his head.

"We need to try and sweat it out first." He told the small teen. "Try to fall asleep."

Robin sighed and closed his eyes. A pacifier was pressed into his mouth and the teddy bear he tended to favor when nobody was around was placed in his arms. He welcomed it and wrapped his arms around the plushie before shutting his eyes and listening to Slade's movements. To his surprise, the man wasn't leaving, but instead reached down to pet his hair until he was peacefully dozing off. He eventually did fall asleep, but not once did he feel Slade's hand leave his hair.


	10. Scaredy Cat Pt 1

Another whole month passed and the Titans were beginning to lose hope. Raven had even resorted to trying to track down his essence, but again, it didn't work. Cyborg had hacked the FBI database to check for any files involving his death or anything else that may have happened to him. All in all, the Titans were managing to hold their only fairly well, but they now lacked the structure, strategy and wisdom of experience that Robin had provided them. However, the Teen Titans weren't the only ones who were sensing the change. Villains were starting to notice as well and many of Robin's enemies like Johnny Rancid had simply lost interest. What was the point of challenging the Titans if their favorite little sidekick wasn't even there to make it interesting? See, Robin maintained a sense of strength and power that nobody else on his team possessed. Sure they were physically all superior to him with their meta-human abilities, but the power that Robin possessed was mental. He never showed sadness or over reacted about trivial things the way Cyborg did and his seriousness was something that Beast Boy could never achieve. Starfire's innocence about the world and Raven's fears and sensitivities about herself also proved to be weaknesses that Robin never showed. He was the glue that kept them all together. He never showed vulnerability or weakness, never cried over anything. He was perfect superhero material and completely flawless. That's why every criminal that had ever met him wanted to crush him into the ground.

Slade had done just that. Over the past month, he had been slipping pills into all of Robin's nightly bottles. The effects were just as he had been expecting and Robin was starting to wet his diaper without realizing it. Just the other day Slade had been feeding him a bottle and the boy had barely even blinked as his diaper grew heavy and warm on his lap. He had also become accustomed to the baby food that Slade fed him every night and had even found a few favorites that Slade usually fed him if he was in a good mood and feeling kind. As for speaking, Robin's vocal cords still didn't allow him to form words, so he had formed a kind of language to express different needs using groans, whines, whimpers, and long strings of vowels. Slade actually found it kind of funny. Obviously, Robin wasn't the perfect baby all the time. There were situations where Robin had fought him over something, usually involving that God-awful walker that Red had bought him, and it resulted in a number of spankings or punishments. However, there were also some nice things that had happened. After Robin had recovered from his stomach virus, he found that he was starting to like the feeling of being cradled in somebody's arms while he had a warm bottle. Living with Bruce, he had gotten living hugs, but this was a whole new level of comfort and he would be lying if he said it wasn't a bit of a guilty pleasure.

Another plus was that Robin finally had a schedule. Slade woke him up every day at eight for a diaper change and then breakfast. Afterwards, Robin was set on the carpet to play with his toys, but he was required to keep a pacifier in his mouth, not that the boy really minded anymore. Nowadays, he hardly even noticed when it was in. Robin occupied himself until lunchtime, when Slade came in to feed him lunch. Then he changed Robin into a sleep diaper and zipped him up in footie pajamas. He carried him over to the rocking chair and cradled him in his arms with that Teddy bear he had come to favor above all of his other toys before slipping a bottle of milk into his mouth and rocking the young hero until he fell asleep. Sometimes, Slade thought about how easy it would be to kill Robin in this position. The boy was defenseless and while he could still run away, he wouldn't get far. Slade chased away the thoughts and would shake his head before carrying Robin over to his crib and tucking him in. Robin usually slept for a couple hours and when he woke up, he received another change, then was carried out into the main room of Slade's lair and set in a play pen or sometimes even the walker where he either entertained himself or some of Slade's workers played with him. Once in a blue moon, Slade would actually even interact with him while he worked: bouncing or rolling a ball back and forth, reading him a story, or giving him little tunes to copy on his toy piano. If Robin wet, then Slade didn't bother carrying him all the way back to the nursery. Instead, he simply laid him down on the floor on top of a plastic changing mat and cleaned him up there. Robin didn't mind this, but sometimes Slade had visitors, usually Red-X or the Hive 5 and it was still rather embarrassing. What was he saying? It was humiliating. It made him feel like a helpless little baby, getting his bottom wiped in front of an audience. Slade still allowed them to tease and mock him, but sometimes he'd notice Slade wiping him a little rougher or his muscles tensing at some of the insults.

Dinner time came next around five thirty and he was once more fed jars of baby food or sometimes tiny bits of meat or mashed potatoes. He was spoon fed, of course and after dinner he was carried to the bathroom for a bath. He was stripped, which he was used to by now and set in the tub. Sometimes on good days, Slade even added bubbles or bath toys. Then he was diapered, put in his sleeper for the night and fed a bottle before being put to bed. It was a good system and it helped to keep Robin in line.

However, Slade was now facing a new problem. Robin obviously depended on him for food, bathing, diaper changes, and other such things, but that was only physically. He wanted to make Robin mentally dependent on him as well. He needed Robin to come crying to him every time he was sad or upset or scared, just like any other normal baby would to their daddy. Only problem was, he wasn't quite sure how to do that.

"Well, have you tried scaring him?" Red-X asked while they were sitting in the lair one day. Slade had just put Robin down for his nap and he was still trying to find a way to manipulate Robin's mental dependencies.

"What, you mean like figuring out his fears and using them against him to make him rely on me for comfort and protection?" Slade asked, considering it. That was definitely the way to go. "And do you happen to know what Robin's personal phobias are?"

Red shrugged. "The kid's tough. We can obviously rule out any general ones: spiders, water, storms, the dark, clowns…"

"It must be something he doesn't commonly face during his outings with the Titans. On that note, don't rule out any options." Slade murmured, thinking about it long and hard. He considered every adversary Robin had ever faced and suddenly he raised his head. "Red, send for that silent one from the Hive 5. The Wykkyd boy."

It only took about an hour for Red to return with Kyd Wykkyd and much to Slade's annoyance, the rest of the team had decided to tag along. He sighed and shook his head but he knew he should be grateful that that hillbilly multiplier hadn't decided to show up as well.

"This is the place?" The boy Seemore asked as he peered around the lair. "Very nice."

"Yes." Slade replied stiffly and he rose from his chair, advancing towards him. "I require your services of mind reading, Kyd Wykkyd."

Jinx raised an eyebrow. "Does this have to do with Robin?"

Gizmo cackled and turned to the two who had not yet seen the baby bird. "Wait 'til you see him. It's hilarious!"

"Yes, but he's sleeping, so you are going to have to be quiet. Is that understood?" Slade asked the young villain.

Red laughed. "Slade, he's a mute."

Slade looked over Kyd and nodded. "Good, then that shouldn't be a problem."

"Can we watch?" Seemore asked.

Slade paused and considered it for a moment before nodding. "But if I have to silence you, you are out." He tuned to Kyd. "Follow me."

The whole group, including Red followed him down the hallway of his lair. Every door looked exactly alike except for one that was covered with hand drawn pictures of the Titans, Jump City, and even a few of different villains. Seemore and Mammoth studied the pictures and glanced at each other before muffling their laughter with hands over their mouths. Slade sent them a warning look and opened the door. They all walked into the dark room and found Robin fast asleep in his crib with a pacifier in his mouth and the Teddy in his arms. His eyes were shut and he hardly made a sound as he lied curled up in the crib. Gizmo looked at him through the bars and the rest peered down at him, smirking in smug satisfaction or immense amusement.

"I need you to look inside his mind and find something for me." Slade instructed the silent teen. "I need to find out some of Robin's fears or vulnerabilities. Perhaps you can help?"

Without a word Kyd Wykkyd pressed a hand to Robin's forehead and suddenly a small black hole, like a tear in the dimension appeared right above Robin's head. It looked almost like a funnel, as if it was coming right out of the hero and Kyd carefully reached his hand into the blackness. His eyes glowed and he was still except for his arm, which seemed to be rummaging around in the rip. Suddenly, Kyd nodded and Seemore smirked. "He found it."

The others watched in surprise as Kyd tugged something right out of the rip and he levitated the object before them. Slade peered at it. "Is that a ventriloquist dummy?"


	11. Scaredy Cat Pt 2

" _Dick? Do you want to meet Mr. Jingles?" His mother asked._

_Dick smiled and nodded. Mr. Harriman and Mr. Jingles had arrived at the circus the day before as a temporary side show addition just while they were in town. Mr. Harriman himself looked like a door to door salesman. He wore a lime green checkered suit and a purple bowtie with a matching fedora to cover up his balding, mousy brown hair. He was a little odd, for every time he talked, he would chuckle, as if he knew something that nobody else did. Dick felt that he was smart to be a little wary of the man._

_Mr. Jingles, however, was a whole different story. He was Mr. Harriman's puppet, seeing as the man was a gifted ventriloquist. Dick had not yet seen the thing, and now here he was outside of the trailer that Mr. Harriman was sharing with Hannibal, the knife thrower. He had never seen a ventriloquist dummy in his life and was eager to see it._

" _Alright, well Mr. Harriman had to run some errands, but he'll be back this afternoon to introduce you to him." His mother smiled. "Now I have to help with the horses. Be a good boy."_

_The seven year old acrobat frowned in disappointment. He had to wait until the afternoon? He might as well build a house while he waited! No, he couldn't wait. He wanted to see Mr. Jingles now. He needed to. Dick waited until his mother was out of sight before slowly going up the three short steps of the trailer. He knew Hannibal wasn't around since he too was on animal duty this morning, so all he had to do was sneak in, get a quick look, and sneak out. Easy as a backflip off of his bed. Dick kneeled down in front of the door and inspected the lock before pulling out one of his homemade lock picks. Hannibal himself had taught him how to shape the wire and jiggle it around just right to get the tumbler to fall into place. He did the same with the door of the trailer and once he had heard the satisfying click, he stood up, pocketed the wire-careful not to bend it-and jiggled the door a little. (They always jammed.) Once it opened, he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. It was dark in the trailer, since all of the blinds were shut. The only light came from what seeped in around the perimeter of them. Dick reached up to try and open them, but he wasn't tall enough, even if he jumped._

_Dick gave up and turned around. For the first time since entering, he noticed somebody sitting in a chair facing the door and let out a yelp of surprise. "Uh, scuzaţi! îmi pare rău!" He quickly apologized in Romanian. Most everyone in the circus spoke it and they often used it around each other instead of English. It gave them a bit of an advantage when outsiders couldn't understand what they were saying about them._

_When the person in the chair didn't respond, Dick peered closer and was surprised to find that it wasn't a grown man, but what appeared to be a child only a little smaller than him. He huffed, wishing he could see through the darkness. Dick suddenly remembered something and fished through his pockets before pulling out a box of matches and the short stub of candle that he liked to carry around with him just in case. Occasionally, he snagged glowing sticks and flashing wands from the gift shop, but usually, candles and matches were the only things he could get his hands on. Dick lit the match, then the candle and walked towards the figure until they were face to face. Suddenly, large, unblinking eyes appeared, staring right into his and he let out a small shriek, his foot kicking the chair and making the dummy slide to the floor._

_Of course, to a seven year old who was sitting in the dark, it did not simply fall off by accident, it moved. Dick let out a cry of fear as he backed away from it. Suddenly, he did not want to meet Mr. Jingles. He wanted to be far, far away from Mr. Jingles. He ran to the door and tugged on it, but it refused to budge. Setting the candle down on a stool by the door, he tried tugging on the door knob with both hands, but still, it didn't give. Slowly, Dick turned around and stared at the dummy. The puppet stared pack with wide, unblinking eyes that never left Dick's face and the mouth chose that time to fall open. Dick screamed and pounded on the door, pleading for somebody to save him._

_Mr. Jingles was coming after him. He could feel it. He could sense his little wooden limbs starting to click as he dragged himself over to Dick. To bite him and scratch him and kill him. Overwhelming panic rose up inside of Dick as the room grew slightly dimmer and he realized with absolute horror that his candle was almost finished. He burst into tears and clawed at the door, desperately trying to get away from the doll that wanted to kill him. Just as the candle went out, the door opened and Dick fell straight into Mr. Harriman, who let out a surprised shout._

" _What the-what are you doing? You're not supposed to be in here!" The man scolded and immediately looked over at Mr. Jingles who was now face down on the floor. "Did you touch my puppet?" He asked angrily and picked up the doll. He carried it over to Dick and kneeled down, making the eyes blink and his head turn to face the boy, who was watching in terror._

" _Now you listen to me, kid." Mr. Jingles said quietly. "I don't take kindly to people messing around with me. So I'll tell you what. if I ever catch you near me again, I'm going to eat your insides and turn you into a puppet! Got it?"_

_Dick nodded quickly and ran off as fast as he could when Mr. Jingles lurched forward and clacked his teeth shut. He ran to his own trailer and locked the door before crawling into bed and squeezing his pillow as tightly as he could._

_He didn't go to meet Mr. Jingles that afternoon._


	12. Scaredy Cat Pt 3

When Robin woke up from his nap, he was surprised to find himself not in his crib, but on a cold tiled floor. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, his eyes adjusting to the dimly lit room. It contained no furniture from what he could see in his position and sat up quickly, wondering if he had been kidnapped. He gasped in alarm at the idea, then smiled to himself at the irony. Robin stretched a little and stood up, turning around and coming face to face with Mr. Jingles.

* * *

Slade was in the main part of his lair, sitting on his throne while the rest of his guests had found seats around him on the floor or other furniture. Red-X himself was perched on top of Slade's throne and Slade chose to ignore it for now. He could be very nice when he wanted to be. The criminals were all staring at the large screen before them that displayed the empty room and Robin who was just starting to rouse from his sleep.

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Jinx asked. "I mean, usually I'd love to take the opportunity to see Robin piss his pants but he does that all the time now. It's lost its shock value."

Slade sighed behind his mask and turned to face her. "This isn't about scaring him. It's a technique I am using to increase Robin's psychological dependence on me. If I can appear as a savior in his eyes in a situation where he feels absolutely helpless, I have reason to believe that he will then start coming to me with more of his problems until there is nothing he can do without me."

"Oh, like Pavlovian conditioning?" Jinx asked.

Slade glanced at her and chuckled. "No. Not at all. Robin is not a dog, he is a child. A child that can be taught how to behave and act the way I want him to. Now shush. He's starting to get up."

* * *

Robin immediately let out a terrified scream and backed away from the dummy as far as he could until his back was pressed against the door. Suddenly, he was back in that dark trailer all over again and the familiar sense of panic began to overwhelm him. He pounded on the door a few times, and then realized that nobody was coming to help him. Stepping away from the door, he buried his face in his hands and took a few deep breaths. He needed to get it together. Mr. Jingles was not real. He was a puppet, a lifeless hunk of glorified wood. He couldn't move, or talk and he certainly couldn't eat his insides.

* * *

"Hold on! He's starting to calm down a little." Red-X said, pointing to the screen.

"Yes, thank you, I can see that." Slade said a little irritably. He pulled a controller out of his pocket. "I was expecting this. Now that he has matured, Robin's rational thought is overpowering his imagination."

"So what are you going to do?" Seemore asked.

"Simple." Slade replied. "I'm going to bring his imagination to life."

* * *

Robin was slowly starting to relax. The breathing was definitely helping and as long as he kept a level head with logic in it, he would be fine. He had just opened his eyes when he heard the clacking. Slowly, he lowered his hands and turned to find Mr. Jingles staring straight at him, his eyes blinking every few seconds. His hands shook and he watched in absolute horror as the puppet's head turned from side to side and his jaw opened and closed a few times. His whole body was trembling now and he stumbled back when Mr. Jingles' head turned sharply to look directly at him. "What did I tell you?" He asked, in the very same voice that Robin remembered and suddenly he was screaming again, throwing himself against the door and pounding on it wildly. He turned and let out a scared whine as the dummy slowly stood up and took a couple torturously slow steps towards the teen. "I warned you."

* * *

Red-X couldn't help letting out a laugh. "This is so mean."

"No duh, scum brain, we're bad guys." Gizmo replied.

"Yea, well it's a good thing Robin's wearing a diaper. I think he shit himself when the puppet started moving." Red-X stated and the others couldn't help laughing too.

"You'd think the big diaper baby would realize it's just a stinkin' robot." Gizmo scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fear wraps itself around rational thought and logic until they suffocate." Slade replied. "This is turning out wonderfully."

"Is that thing really going to eat his insides?" Seemore asked curiously and Red-X shook his head.

"Nah, it'll just grab onto him and start biting, but not hard enough to break skin or even fabric." The thief replied.

"Cool." Jinx grinned. "So how long is this going to last?"

"Just until he calls for me. Then I'll be right there to save him." Slade replied.

* * *

Robin was absolutely, one hundred percent sure he was going to die. Mr. Jingles slowly advanced and he quickly ran to the other side of the room. When he saw how slowly he was moving, he started to calm down a little. That was until he saw a flash and the padding of feet and suddenly, Mr. Jingles was right next to him. Robin let out a blood-curdling scream and scrambled away from the puppet, tears streaming out of his eyes like a sink that had been left on. In one last desperate attempt, Robin climbed onto the chair and used it as leverage to leap up to the ceiling. He grabbed onto the edge of a vent and clung to it like a koala.

* * *

"Great, now what?" Jinx frowned. "He's on the ceiling!"

"Just hold on." Slade said casually.

* * *

Robin let out another horrified whine as he saw Mr. Jingles climbing up the wall like a spider and onto the ceiling. He immediately fell to the floor and backed into a corner, bawling like a true baby.

"I warned you." Mr. Jingles said again as he smiled maliciously at Robin and advanced on him. Panic welled up inside Robin and he suddenly found himself crowded by the puppet that sank his wooden teeth into Robin's side, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist.

Robin let out a shrill shriek and crawled over to the door, trying to push the puppet off of him. He pounded on the door harder and harder until he had actually begun to dent it. "Help me!" He screamed through his sobs. "He's gonna eat me! Slade!"

* * *

Slade casually set the remote down. "And there's my cue." He sighed, getting up from his throne. Red-X immediately took his place as Slade headed off down the hall.

* * *

"SLADE! SLADE! SLADE!" Robin screamed and sobbed. He was so scared by now that he couldn't even describe it. His mind had gone absolutely blank from the terror he was experiencing. And then the door was opening and Robin was being picked up. Slade pulled Mr. Jingles off of Robin and threw him against the far wall where he then hit the ground and lay lifeless. Robin burrowed as far as he could into Slade's arms and buried his face in the man's chest, sobbing harder than Slade had ever seen anybody in his life time cry. And he had made a lot of people cry.

"Slade, Slade, Slade, Slade, Slade…" Robin repeated over and over as the man held him protectively, shushing him as if he was an actual baby. Slade slowly turned and carried him back to the nursery and over to the rocking chair where a warm bottle was waiting on the table next to it. He stopped by the crib on the way and snatched Robin's blanky, wrapping the boy in it before cradling him in the chair and beginning to rock. The boy was still mumbling his name.

"Shhhh, it's all right, Robin. You're safe. I saved you. I will always protect you." Slade told him as he slipped the rubber nipple of the bottle into Robin's mouth. It shut him up, but he sucked it down as if it was the antidote to a poison he had just taken. His eyes made him look borderline crazy as they looked all around the room for Mr. Jingles. Yes, Robin would have a bad case of paranoia for a little while after this and Slade decided that it would be best to invest in some brighter night lights and possibly some thicker diapers. The boy started to fuss a little bit, just like a baby should, with whining and a slightly reddening face. He looked ready to cry again so Slade held him a little tighter. "You're safe. I saved you. I will always protect you." He repeated and he told it to the young hero again and again in a soft tone until he had fallen asleep.

 


	13. The End

After the Mr. Jingles incident, Slade had definitely started to see big changes in Robin's behavior and attitude. He was much less confident and cocky about things now and often chose to cling onto Slade in favor of being alone. Before bed, usually during baths or stories, Robin tried his best to stall so that Slade could stay with him a little longer. During bottles, Robin burrowed into Slade much more eagerly than he used to and sometimes Slade would find him unconsciously fisting the fabric of his suit. His obedience towards Slade had also improved quite noticeably as well. He hardly ever fought Slade during meals or diaper changes anymore. In fact, the only problem was that Robin had become a bit too clingy. With his little baby bird constantly begging him for stories and bottles and games and everything else, Slade could hardly get his work done. In fact, the only time he ever did make any progress with his other schemes was during naptime when Robin was asleep or after Slade had put him to bed.

Another thing was Robin's voice. Since he'd had to take the voice controller out in order to achieve what he had with Mr. Jingles, Robin was using his voice to the absolute fullest. Sure, Slade had restricted him to only infantile words, but even those were extremely horrible to listen to when they were being repeated over and over.

Enough was enough. As much as Slade enjoyed being with his perfect little birdy, he was getting no work done whatsoever and if he had to hear the words 'baba' or 'story' one more time, he was going to feed himself to Mr. Jingles.

He needed a babysitter.

Besides, this could be a great opportunity to test just how dependent on him Robin had really become. Robin had only been in his care for three months and the progress he had made was amazing, if not a little drug induced. With the help of some muscle weakening medications, Slade had managed to make Robin lose all of his bladder control and a good amount of his bowel control as well. The boy was also dependent on comfort objects like pacifiers, plushies, and blankies to calm him down and induce sleep. Sleeping in a crib had also affected his movement while unconscious and even though Slade had not tested it, he was almost certain that Robin would fall out of a normal bed if he was made to sleep in one. For eating, Robin could no longer drink from a cup without spilling it, exclusively able to use sippy cups or bottles and feeding himself, unless with his hands was pretty much out of the question. His favorite thing, however, was Robin's vocabulary, which had been restricted to roughly two thousand words and phrases. Some, that without Slade's translations, nobody else could understand. His vocabulary was not lost, just locked away deep in his mind like the rest of his mature memories and behavior. How was it that something so wonderful could be such a curse at the same time?

"You should have seen this coming." Red-X told him one day during Robin's nap. "Weren't you the one who read up on all of the conditioning for mental regression? The one who calculated all the outcomes and prepared for everything and anything that Robin would throw at you?" He laughed. "Looks like the only thing you weren't prepared for was having to take care of a baby."

Slade rolled his eyes, not that Red-X could really see it with his mask on. "You must take me for an idiot, Red. Of course I was expecting this. I knew the consequences when I started. I cannot give up the boy and leave him in the mind state of a baby for the rest of his life. That would be cruel…crueler than I could allow."

"And what exactly do you have planned?" Red asked him curiously.

"Re-raise him, of course. Teach him and train him to be my apprentice. His muscles will start to grow back quickly and once I send him to the Hive Academy-"

"Hold on, you're sending him to the Hive Academy? In his condition?" Red asked him in disbelief.

"Yes. Is there something wrong with that?" Slade asked.

"No, not at all if your plan is for him to get eaten alive by his classmates since he can barely talk or eat on his own, let alone train with them!" Red protested. "And what about the diapers? Or are you going to take him out of class to change him in the infirmary?"

"I will train him again." Slade replied calmly. "You seem to be under the impression that I am sending him away in the near future. Quite the contrary. It will take several more months until Robin is ready to do anything on his own. In the meantime, I require a babysitter to help me get through those months ahead."

Red laughed. "Good luck finding a nanny who's willing to take care of a fourteen year old boy!"

"Fifteen."

Red looked at him. "What?"

"The boy is fifteen now. His birthday was last Monday." Slade replied. "And anyways, I don't need to find one."

Red crossed his arms. "And why is that?"

"Simple." Slade smirked behind his mask. "I have you."

After promises of a large paycheck and a small share of Slade's diamond stash, Red-X reluctantly agreed to take the position, just as long as he didn't have to change any messy diapers. After removing his cape and belt, (no weapons around the baby) Red tiptoed into the nursery to find Robin already sitting up in his crib with his hands tightly gripping the bars. When he saw Red, he frowned. That was not Slade.

"Slade." Robin said, though it sounded much more like a command to Red.

He shook his head. "Sorry, birdy, but Uncle Red is going to take care of you today." He told the boy. He moved to pick Robin up, but the boy simply moved away. Red sighed and could immediately tell that it was going to be a very long day, a very long week, and a very long three or four months. Leaning over, he scooped Robin up into his arms which was even easier now that his muscles were getting smaller. The boy struggled and let out a whine of "no X!" but Red ignored him and strapped him down on the changing table. "Alright, kid, here's the deal. I'll change your diaper, but if you pee on me, you're on your own, got it?" He asked. Robin ignored him and called out for Slade again.

"Why don't we terrify Robin into being completely dependent on Slade? It'll be great!" Red muttered as he cautiously untaped the boy's diaper. "Stupid puppet."

Robin squirmed a little and stared up at the ceiling in boredom. Usually Slade gave him a toy or something to keep him occupied during diaper changes. He started to whine impatiently and kick his legs.

"Just hold still!" Red told him as he tried to clean him up. After three months, Red had gotten pretty used to seeing Robin naked, though he'd never, ever, repeat that to anyone. Once he finally had Robin's legs under control, he finished cleaning him with a baby wipe and poured powder on him the way he'd seen Slade do it many times before. He slid a clean diaper under Robin's bottom and let out a sigh of relief once it was taped up. He reconnected the snaps on Robin's yellow onesie and with a triumphant smile, carried Robin out to the main part of Slade's lair, dropping him right into the walker. Robin started to protest, but Red quickly popped a pacifier into his mouth to shut him up. Sure, the hero could have simply removed the object or talked around it, but the pacifier was a symbol for silence. Once his pacifier was in, Robin was not allowed to speak unless he was spoken to or somebody, meaning Slade, removed it. This rule, however, did not keep him from protesting through the form of loud whines.

"Just calm down and play with the toys." Red told him. "Stop trying to get out and start playing."

Robin sent him a resentful frown, but much to Red's satisfaction, he began to experimentally toy with the walker. His favorite thing to do, he had found, was to bounce in it. It made a creaking sound every time, but whenever he bounced, his feet would hit the floor just a little bit and he could propel himself forward. Red spent a good ten minutes or so watching Robin do test laps around the lair using the system. It was funny, but eventually the creaking noise got to Slade and he made Red put a stop to it. For the first time since he had first sat in the thing, Robin was not too happy to get out and be set down on the floor with his toys. He took a good three minutes of so to dedicate to pouting before getting bored and turning his attention to his blocks.

Finally everything was quiet. Slade let out a relieved sigh and closed his eyes peacefully, turning back to his work.

Until the Titans came crashing through the main doors.


	14. No Bye-Bye

Three months. It had been three months since Robin had disappeared and not only was Jump City convinced that he was dead, but the Titans were beginning to believe it, too. That was until eleven days after Robin's (supposedly) seventeenth birthday when the Titans were called to stop a mall raid. Their moods were pretty dampened from their huge loss, but Cyborg, having taken the role of leader, had encouraged himself and the rest of the team to remain strong. Robin would have been upset if he found out that they were neglecting their duties because of him. They found the teen criminals gathered in one section of the mall near an electronics store and a jeweler's.

"Well look who it is! You crud-sniffing Titans don't stand a chance against us now!" Gizmo cackled.

"Robin may be gone, but that doesn't mean we can't defeat you!" Beast Boy growled.

Jinx laughed. "You wish. Hive 5 eat'em alive!" She ordered, sending the team members charging.

Mammoth immediately went after Cyborg and they gripped each other in an attempt to overpower their opponent. Cyborg let out a powerful cry and shoved him back into a display case. Gizmo took on Beast Boy, who was currently a bull charging at him. The small villain easily evaded the attack and tripped the animal with a single long spider leg, sending the changeling flying into him. Before he could realize it and move aside, the bull it him and they both fell to the ground with Gizmo's equipment crushed from the weight.

Beast Boy changed back into himself and groaned, then looked down at the dazed villain and grinned triumphantly. He was about to get up when he saw something peeking out of Gizmo's destroyed technology. It was yellow and black and…Beast Boy gasped as he pulled it out and dropped it onto the floor as if it were on fire. "Guys!" He squeaked, staring at the object. "Look what I found!"

"We're a little busy right now!" Cyborg called from his wrestling match with Mammoth.

"Yes, perhaps later would be a more suitable time!" Starfire added from her battle with Seemore.

"No! Not later! I think it's Robin's!" Beast Boy yelled impatiently.

At the sound of Robin's name, the other three Titans stopped what they were doing and hurried over. Starfire let out a shrill gasp. "Robin!"

Cyborg picked up the Titan communicator. "Hold on, guys. We don't know for sure if this is really Robin's. It could just be a fake."

"Can you check it to see if it is Robin's? Surely there is some sort of proof!" Starfire insisted.

"Hey!" Gizmo yelled, interrupting their moment of hope. "Give that back!"

"No! You took this from Robin!" Beast Boy snapped. "Where is he?"

Gizmo laughed. "Like I'm gonna tell you dirt brains." He let out a yelp as he was suddenly yanked into the air by the collar of his shirt.

"You tell me where Robin is this instant!" Starfire demanded and her eyes began to glow dangerously.

"Nope, not telling." Gizmo replied. "Slade would kill me." He realized what he had said and paled. "Not that he's with Slade! I mean…uh,"

"You idiot!" Jinx snarled at him. "There is no way I'm helping you take the fall for this. Slade can eat you alive for all I care."

"I didn't mean to! It was an accident!" Gizmo yelled back.

"Yea? So was your conception!" Jinx replied.

The two villains went at each other furiously, throwing around insults and the occasional kick or punch. They were so into their own thing that they hardly noticed the Titans leaving.

It didn't take long for Cyborg to scan and analyze the communicator and based on the information he had found on it, he was fairly certain that it did in fact belong to their team leader. "This doesn't mean that he's alive." Cyborg reminded the other as Beast Boy and Starfire jumped around and Raven did her equivalent of celebrating by revealing a small smile, only to have the remote fly across the room and smash into the wall. She stopped smiling.

"You heard what Gizmo said! He's with Slade! I bet the dude kidnapped him and forced him to be his apprentice again." Beast Boy replied.

"It does seem likely." Raven shrugged.

"But why has Robin not returned for so long? Why has he not escaped?" Starfire cried.

"Maybe Slade's blackmailing him again." Raven suggested.

Cyborg frowned. "My scanners don't sense anything wrong with us, and my city scan doesn't detect any immediate dangers."

"Maybe it has to do with his identity." Raven suggested.

"Or maybe Slade had brainwashed him and turned him into his zombie slave!" Beast Boy gasped.

Cyborg pushed him aside. "Whatever it is, we're going to find out. Gizmo deleted the travel history from the communicator's GPS tracking system, but what he didn't do was wipe out the memory completely. I can still recover the information." He grinned, hooking the communicator up to his system.

Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy gathered around him and watched impatiently as the information was recovered, and then loaded onto Cyborg's system. They held their breaths and finally, finally, the results appeared on the communicator.

"Where is he?" Starfire asked urgently.

"He's…in Jump City." Cyborg stated and grinned. The others joined him, except for Raven who at least stopped frowning.

"Oh this is marvelous! Robin has not left us!" Starfire cheered as she flew around the room.

"It's right on the city limits about a mile or so away from the water." Cyborg stated. "Directly south of here." He looked up hopefully and grinned. "Titans, move out!"

When the Titans came bursting through the doors, Robin jumped in surprise, his eyes widening at the intrusion. Slade calmly stood up and sighed. Always something. He would never get his work done. "Red, take Robin to the nursery and lock yourselves in. This environment is much too dangerous for a baby."

Red nodded and picked the boy up, who was still staring at the young heroes curiously. He made eye contact with Starfire and the girl gasped. "Robin!" She cried, immediately flying over to him.

Hearing his name, Robin smiled and he reached out to her, but before Starfire could touch him, Red-X pulled him away. "Sorry sweetheart. Robin doesn't need you anymore." He said and disappeared with him down the hall.

"Please make this short. Dinner is in an hour." Slade sighed as he walked down the steps of his throne. "What is it that you want?"

"You know exactly what we want!" Beast Boy snapped. "Give us Robin!"

"Oh, I see." Slade chuckled. "You desire your leader. I hate to disappoint, but if you came looking for the member of your team, he is not here."

"We just saw him." Cyborg insisted.

"Yea, that's definitely Robin." Raven confirmed.

"Technically, yes, it is Robin. But he is not the Robin you are looking for." Slade replied.

"What do you mean he's not what we're looking for? Of course he is!" Beast Boy frowned.

"I've taken the old Robin and destroyed him. Melted him down and molded him into what I want him to be. In time, I will do it again." Slade stated.

The Titans didn't want to hear anymore. They charged at Slade, who pulled out his bo staff. "Starfire! Raven! You go after Red-X and get Robin!" He ordered and the girls flew off down the hall at top speed.

"I can tell this is going to be boring." Slade sighed. He held his staff up against the paws of the large green tiger that was trying to maul him, pushing him onto his back and dodging the sonic blast that had been aimed at him.

Starfire and Raven hurried through the hall, keeping an eye out for any signs of Robin. "How do we know which room he's in?" Starfire asked as the found themselves surrounded by doors.

"Hold on, I can track him." Raven said and closed her eyes. It only took her a few seconds and turned to the door that was covered in Robin's drawings. "He's in there."

It was locked, so Raven removed the door completely and entered the room, prepared to fight. She stepped back in surprise at what she saw instead. Red-X as sitting sideways in the rocking chair in boredom as he watched Robin play with cars. The boy was in overalls now. They were green, and his shirt was red and yellow. He had Velcro shoes on and his mask had been replaced.

"Robin?" She asked.

Robin immediately turned around to look at her and waved, just like Slade had taught him to do around guests.

"Robin! I am so glad you are alive and well!" Starfire cried, tackling him in a hug.

While Starfire fussed over the alarmed and confused boy, Raven looked over at Red. "You don't seem in any hurry to stop us."

Red-X shrugged. "The man's paying me to watch him, not fight you. Besides, it doesn't matter if you take him or not. Your boy wonder is gone and the only family he knows now is Slade."

Starfire looked up in shock at that. "No! That is not true! We are his family!" She looked down at Robin. "Come on, Robin. We are going home!"

Robin looked over at Red-X and pointed to his pacifier questioningly. The man sighed. "Fine, alright." He nodded and walked over to Robin, pulling the pacifier out.

Robin turned back to the girls. "Home."

"Yes Robin, we're going back to the tower." Raven said. She waited, frowning when he simply went back to playing with his cars. "Robin, come on. Cyborg and Beast Boy are holding off Slade so that we can get you out of here."

At the sound of his "daddy's" name, Robin perked up. "Slade!"

"Yes, Slade, so we need to move now!" Starfire insisted.

Both girls stared on in disbelief as Robin got on his hands and knees and crawled over to his toddler-size Legos. "You see?" Red-X laughed. "Robin's gone."

Starfire was growing impatient. She finally just picked up Robin and flew out of the room with him in her arms. She noticed that he was much lighter than he used to be, though even then he was just over the weight of a child. She carried him into the main lair with Raven following close behind to see that Beast Boy, in the form of a large gorilla, had managed to pin Slade to the floor. The second Robin caught sight of the criminal mastermind, he reached out to him excitedly. "Slade!"

"Hello, Robin. Are you going bye bye with the Titans?" Slade asked casually, earning a number of strange looks from the heroes.

Robin stopped and frowned at that. Bye bye? He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay here with Slade. He didn't want to go bye bye. "No!" He cried out, reaching his arms towards Slade again. "Slade!"

The Titans all looked at him in utter disbelief as Slade chuckled smugly. "Robin, are you insane?" Cyborg asked.

"Why would you want to stay with this lunatic?" Beast Boy asked as once he had morphed back into a human.

"Come on, let's just get out of here." Cyborg said and as Starfire flew towards the door, Robin began to scream and cry.

"Slaaaaade!" He bawled repeatedly, desperately reaching out to him.

"Calm now, birdy. There is no need for crying. You will see me soon enough." Slade promised him, but Robin wasn't buying it.

"No bye bye! No bye bye!" He bawled over and over. He screamed his head off as Starfire carried him out of the lair and outside before strapping him in the back seat of the T car.

The Titans ignored him and Beast Boy drove in the car with Cyborg while the girls flew overhead. The entire ride home, Robin screamed and cried for Slade and a few times, Beast Boy was ready to yell at him to shut up. Before he could, Cyborg would just shake his head and tell him to just let it go. All would be taken care of once they were back at the tower.


	15. Buying For a Baby

Since Robin was either unable or unwilling to walk, Cyborg carried the boy inside of the tower. Robin was still crying for Slade and Cyborg was starting to wonder if Beast Boy's brainwashing idea wasn't as stupid as he had previously thought. He carried the distraught leader to the medical ward, eager to make sure he was completely unharmed. In a matter of seconds, the rest of the Titans had caught up with him and together, they entered the examination room where Robin was set down on the metal table.

"Robin? You're safe, please stop crying." Starfire pleaded.

"He's been at it the entire ride. I have no idea when he's going to stop or how to make him." Cyborg frowned.

"Well, I could influence his mind." Raven offered. "To make him calm down."

Beast Boy nodded. "Hurry before he drives me insane."

Raven stepped forward and pressed two fingers to Robin's forehead. She stared into his mask, which was now completely soaked from the tears and her forehead creased in concentration. Slowly, Robin's sobs started to quiet down and his body began to relax and by the time Raven stepped back, he was completely serene.

"Robin? Can you speak to us?" Cyborg asked.

Robin frowned and looked around. "Slade."

"Slade is gone, Robin. You are back with your friends and you are safe." Starfire told him.

"No bye bye." Robin replied softly. "Slade no bye bye."

"Okay, there is definitely something wrong here." Beast Boy frowned. "Why is he so upset that Slade's gone and why is he talking like a two year old?"

"I've been thinking about it, and I hate to admit it but I think Beast Boy was right. I think Robin was brainwashed by Slade." Cyborg frowned.

"Well that explains a lot." Raven said.

"We found Robin in a room used for the holding of human offspring." Starfire explained.

Cyborg and Beast Boy turned to Raven for translation. "A nursery." She said.

Beast Boy stiffened. "A nursery? As in a room for babies with a crib and a rocking chair and bottles and toys and stuff?"

Starfire nodded. "Affirmative. It was most colorful."

Beast Boy stood quiet for a moment, trying fight back a smile but after a few seconds, he gave up and fell to the ground laughing until tears were streaming out of his eyes. "Are you trying to tell me that Slade turned Robin into a baby?"

"That's what it looks like." Cyborg nodded and he too, was starting to give into laughter.

Starfire frowned in confusion and turned to Raven. "I do not understand the humor in the situation."

"There isn't any." Raven said, glaring at the two. "It's a serious problem."

Beast Boy started to say something, but at the last second he started howling with laughter and fell against Cyborg. Robin watched them curiously and started to giggle too, not quite understanding why the two were so happy.

"Stop laughing." Raven hissed. "What do you think is going to happen if the city or even any criminals find out about this? It will spread like wildfire and then he'll either be locked up in a mental institution or villains will start trying to kidnap him. He's a bit of an easy target now."

At the thought of that, Beast Boy's and Cyborg's smiles disappeared. "Can't you fix it?" Cyborg asked.

Raven sighed. "I can try, but it will be hard if he's not willing to recover his memories. It will take time and there is no promise that he won't relapse if coaxed using certain mental keys."

Cyborg sighed. "How long do you think it will take?"

"If all goes well, a month. But that would be without any interruptions, setbacks, or resistance." Raven told him.

"So what do we do with him now?" Beast Boy asked as he stared at their leader.

"Treat him like a baby, I guess." Cyborg shrugged and Raven nodded in confirmation.

"We need to keep him calm so the best thing to do would be to make him feel like nothing has changed." Raven said. She grimaced. "We should start by getting diapers."

Cyborg and Beast Boy nearly choked on air when they heard that. "You're not serious." Cyborg frowned.

"Nope, I refuse to believe that. There is no way somebody just forgets how to take a leak in only three months." Beast Boy said stubbornly.

"Pee-pee." Robin said and squirmed a little as he sucked on his middle and ring fingers.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You believe me now?"

"No way. He probably is just saying that he has to go." Beast Boy shrugged.

Raven sighed and used her powers to lift Robin up and unhook his overalls, making them fall to his ankles. She set him down in just his shirt and his obviously wet diaper.

Cyborg and Beast Boy exchanged looks of disgust. "No, we can't do it." Cyborg said quickly.

"And why not?" Raven asked.

"Because it's gross and he's a dude!" Beast Boy replied.

Raven shrugged. "So what?"

"So, I can't look at or touch another dude's penis! That's weird!" Beast Boy insisted. "You're the one with telekinesis, why can't you do it?"

Raven rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Because sometimes I won't be around to do it. Then who will change him, huh?"

"Starfire." Beast Boy stated after a minute's thought and Cyborg nodded in agreement.

"Man up." Raven frowned, but the boys stubbornly shook their heads. She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Fine. Then the least you can do is buy everything that we're going to need. And be fast about it. Robin can get a rash if he's not changed soon enough."

The boys grimaced at the thought and sighed. "Fine, tell us everything you need and I'll make a list." Cyborg said.

Raven thought for a moment. She walked over and inspected Robin's diaper. "Adult diapers, size extra small and make sure they're thick. If you need help, just ask a salesperson to assist you. Baby powder, wipes, a changing mat, rash cream…" She observed the way Robin sucked on his fingers and remembered the pacifier he'd had. "Buy some pacifiers, too. Can you drink out of a normal cup?" She asked Robin.

The boy looked back at her when he heard the word drink. "Baba." He requested.

"I'm not sure what that is." Rave said.

"Oh! A baba is a plastic, oddly shaped cylinder with a rubber cap that is inserted into the mouth of human offspring. It is used for the consumption of liquids." Starfire beamed. She had observed many mothers talking about them to their babies.

"So… like, a bottle?" Beast Boy asked.

Raven nodded. "Get one of those, too and some sippy cups."

"Got it, anything else?" Cyborg asked.

Raven shook her head. "While you guys buy supplies, Starfire and I are going to take care of any safety hazards around the tower."

Cyborg nodded. "Okay, come on, Beast Boy. Time to do some shopping."

Beast Boy groaned. "Why do I have to come?"

"Because if you don't, you're stuck with diaper duty." Cybrog replied. "Now hurry up."

Beast Boy quickened his pace and followed Cyborg back over to the T-car. They drove to the closest pharmacy and went inside. While they store was fairly empty for the middle of the day, everybody inside immediately stared at the two heroes as they entered. The two awkwardly looked around.

"Maybe we should have gone in disguise?" Beast Boy whispered.

"Too late for that." Cyborg shrugged and casually as possible, walked over to the diaper aisle. Thankfully, assistance was not needed and Cyborg grabbed two boxes worth of the adult diapers. "You think that's enough?"

"Dude, this is enough to last at least a year." Beast Boy commented. "Maybe we should get a cart."

Cyborg nodded in agreement and had Beast Boy fetch one while he picked out three packs of baby wipes and a bottle of baby powder. Once the changeling had returned, he placed everything in the cart. "Go find baby bottles while I look for diaper rash stuff." Cyborg told him. The two were completely oblivious to the bewildered looks of the other shoppers and employees. Cyborg located the cream in a medication aisle and grabbed a tube of the stuff. Then he went to find Beast Boy. He found the boy in the back of the store staring at the colorful display of baby toys and accessories.

"Dude, I don't even know what to get. There are so many." Beast Boy stated.

Cyborg looked them over. "I guess we should get the biggest of everything." He shrugged. He found the largest pacifiers and bottles and tossed them in the cart while Beast Boy grabbed sippy cups.

"There." Beast Boy sighed in relief. "Now let's leave."

Cyborg pushed the cart over to the check out and the young man behind it stared at the stuff curiously. "Rough day?" He finally asked.

"You would not believe the crazy shit we've been through today." Beast Boy sighed. Once everything was bagged and paid for, the two hurried out of the store and stashed everything in the back seat before heading back to the tower.


	16. Titan's Baby Bird Pt 1

Starfire stayed with Robin while Raven surveyed the house, looking for any potential hazard. She picked up every weapon, sharp object, tool, and anything else that she thought could inflict damage. She even made sure that the outlets were all covered so that Robin didn't end up electrocuting himself. When she approached Robin's bedroom, she paused. The boy may have been a mindless toddler, but for some reason she still felt hesitant about invading his personal space. Like her, Robin wasn't quick to invite people in, and on the rare occasion that he did, he'd have been prepared hours in advance. Raven sighed and reminded herself that it was for Robin's own safety before entering the room. She surveyed the floor, the bed, and every other surface for weapons and gathered up everything she found. She would hide them away from him in a safe place until he was better. Then she slowly and delicately took his utility belts out of the closets and confiscated those as well. Once she was absolutely sure she hadn't missed anything, Raven returned to the medical ward.

When she arrived, she found Beast Boy and Cyborg waiting with two large boxes and a few pharmacy bags. "Did we get the right diapers?" Cyborg asked.

Raven walked over to Robin, who was being kept entertained by Starfire's funny faces, and checked his diaper again before studying the side of the box.

"Yep." She confirmed. "These will be fine." She raised an eyebrow at them. "Can I change him or do you want time to leave first?"

"Um, maybe we shouldn't all be here for that." Beast Boy said awkwardly as a blush formed on his cheeks. "I mean, I don't think any of us would want to be stripped naked and changed in front of the entire team."

Raven nodded in agreement. "I can understand that. Starfire, leave with the boys so that I can help Robin in private."

Starfire giggled with Robin and squeezed him tightly. "Do not worry, cute and giggly Robin. I will be back momentarily!" She beamed before leaving. So far, she was the only one enjoying the situation.

Once the room was empty, Raven had him lie down and slid the changing mat underneath him. She rummaged through the bags until she found wipes, powder, and rash cream and then tore open the first box of diapers. She pulled one out and unfolded it, setting it aside. Using her powers, she removed Robin's wet diaper and dropped it in the trash. Robin was completely calm about it, since Slade had taught him that diaper changes were just a part of being a baby. It was necessary and not worth being embarrassed or modest about. Raven, on the other hand, was blushing pink and tried to look anywhere but at her teammate's groin while she cleaned him with the baby wipes. She could not think of a time where she was more grateful to have telekinesis than she was at that moment. Amazingly, Robin didn't have a rash, so Raven hurried to coat him in baby powder and tape the clean diaper at his hips. Once she finished, she let out a sigh of relief and walked over to Robin, making sure the garment was taped around him tightly enough. Robin huffed impatiently, scowling at her with his pouty blue eyes that Raven couldn't stop staring at. Now that the initial shock and excitement of having Robin back alive was over, she was able to marvel at her leader's unmasked face. Instead of the haunted, cold eyes that she had been expecting, Raven saw hope, vulnerability, and traces of childish innocence that she had never seen in a person over the age of twelve before.

"So what do you usually do about now?" Raven asked, checking the clock. It was nearing five.

"Nummy." Robin replied as if it was obvious. Raven raised her eyebrow at the slight attitude but she let it slide, since Robin was brainwashed and whatever. She was going to use a spell to lessen Robin's weight, but after an experimental lift, she was surprised to find that it was rather unnecessary as long as she didn't have to carry him for long amounts of time. However, Starfire and Cyborg would have no trouble at all with lifting Robin up. Good, then she could let them handle that. Using her powers, she levitated the supplies that Cyborg and Beast Boy had gotten. She turned to find Robin watching in amazement. "Uppy!" He demanded, stretching his arms out and making grabby hands in the air. When Raven tried to pick him up he whined and pushed her away. "Uppy!" He repeated, pointing to the supplies.

Raven sighed and crossed her arms. "What the heck?" She shrugged and began to levitate the boy as well, making him squeal and shriek in excitement. He slowly turned over in the air until he was floating upside down and giggled contently. Raven left the room and made the objects and Robin follow her. When the other Titans caught sight of Robin, they grinned at her. "Don't ask." She grumbled.

Starfire giggled gleefully and started to fly, immediately going over to Robin. "Look, happy Robin! We can both fly now!"

"Uppy!" Robin squeaked shrilly and laughed harder. While Starfire saw nothing wrong with her friend and joined him in his excitement, the other stared in disbelief as their leader floated around in just a diaper and a t-shirt while trying to touch his toes. Once they were in the living room, Raven set Robin down on the couch. He let out a whine of protest. "Uppy! Upyy!" He insisted in an young, immature voice.

Starfire laughed and scooped him up herself, flying around the room. "You can fly with me, Robin!" Robin's pouting disappeared and once more he was laughing gleefully.

While he and Starfire entertained each other, Raven dropped the supplies into Cyborg's and Beast Boy's arms. "Here. You can take these up to his room." She said. "I'm going to try and figure out what he eats." Once they boys had gone into the elevator, Raven did her best to drown out Robin's and Starfire's giggling. She opened the fridge and inspected its contents before pulling out carrots, grapes, a pear, milk, and a block of cheese. She put it all on the island and turned to search through the pantry next, which had worse results. She settled on crackers and added that to the pile of food. Then she went through the process of things she figured Robin could eat on his own and things that would need to be modified or fed to him. Baby carrots, grapes and crackers were already fine, but she'd need to chop the cheese up into smaller pieces that would be easier to eat. The pear would have to be mashed and fed to him, going by what she had seen on television and what she had observed while in the city. She was slicing the cheese into small cubes when the boys returned and set the sippy cups and bottles on the counter.

Beast Boy observed what she was doing and started to laugh. "Raven cut the cheese!" He called out and fell over laughing.

Raven rolled her eyes in irritation. "Unbelievable. Robin gets turned into a baby and you're still the most immature member of the team."

Beast Boy frowned, his feelings hurt. "Hey, come on. That was funny."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Puns are not funny." She hissed before going back to what she was doing.

It took about ten minutes to finish the cheese cubes and then mash up the pear. Ten minutes of Starfire flying around the room with Robin in her arms while Cyborg watched and Beast Boy recovered from his horrible pun. She poured the mushed up fruit into a bowl and grabbed a spoon from the drawer and set it on the island in front of Robin's seat along with the plate of bite-size finger foods and a sippy cup of milk. It looked just like it did on TV and Raven hoped Robin would accept it. Otherwise, she would force it into his mouth.

Starfire flew over to the kitchen and set Robin in his seat. He immediately leaned back and would have fallen out of the chair if the alien had not been right there to catch him. He clung onto her as he struggled to stay balanced on the stool-like chair.

Beast Boy laughed as he watched. "What's wrong with him?"

Raven thought back to the nursery and frowned. "A high chair." She grumbled. "He needs a high chair."

"We don't have one. Can't he just eat on the floor or something?" Beast Boy shrugged.

"Sure, Beast Boy. Let's have him eat off of the floor." Raven said sarcastically. She was starting to get impatient. "Somebody will just have to stand behind him and make sure he doesn't fall."

"I gladly accept this duty!" Starfire beamed and stayed right where she was, giggling every time Robin started to fall over and helping him back up. Thankfully, Robin was content to eat the finger foods except for the crackers, which he crushed and sprinkled over himself like fairy dust.

"Dude, you're making a mess." Beast Boy scolded him.

Robin glared at him and grabbed two of the round crackers, holding them to his eyes and sticking his tongue out at the changeling. "Bllaaaahhhhh!"

Cyborg laughed. "He got you, BB."

"Yea, yea, whatever. At least I don't wear my bathroom." Beast Boy muttered.

Robin put the crackers down and looked up. "Poopy."

Raven turned her head and gave Beast Boy the dirtiest look she could manage. "You just had to jinx it, didn't you?"

Beast Boy's eyes widened and he quickly turned into mouse, quickly hurrying away. Cyborg copied him, disappearing from the room faster than Kid Flash could win a marathon. Raven turned to look at Robin, who was biting his lip and fidgeting in his seat and sighed.


	17. Titan's Baby Bird Pt 2

It turns out dirty diapers were much, much worse than ones that were simply wet. While it smelled awful and was completely disgusting, there was also something that just felt pitiful and pathetic about the entire situation. Raven was pretty sure she had never in a millions thought that she'd ever be wiping shit off of her proud leader's bare ass. This time it took a little longer to clean him up and much to Raven's chagrin, she actually had to look at Robin to make sure he was completely clean. When she returned to the living room, the boys were back and they observed her bright red cheeks curiously.

"Not a word." She hissed, her eyes ablaze and the boys paled, nodding quickly. Raven set him back down at the island where Starfire was dutifully standing and set the bowl of mashed pears in front of him. "Here."

Robin stared at it blankly before trying to eat it with his fingers.

"No Robin. Use a spoon." Raven instructed.

Robin looked at her and opened his mouth wide, waiting for her to spoon feed him the way Slade always did.

Raven's frown deepened, "You've got to be kidding me." Sighing, she took the spoon and scooped up some of the pear. She fought the temptation to just shove it in his mouth and forced herself to stay patient and calm, even when there was mushed pear running down his chin. She let out a sigh of relief once Robin had finished and left him to drink from his sippy cup while she cleaned everything up. Starfire carried Robin over to the couch so that he could watch TV.

Robin was absolutely enthralled. Seeing as he'd gone three months and undertook brain conditioning without even a hint of television or media, the big screen and moving pictures had the boy hypnotized.

"Look at him! It's like he's never seen a TV before." Beast Boy said in disbelief.

"Well at least we know how to occupy him." Cyborg shrugged.

"Oh I bet our happy Robin would most certainly enjoy the documentary about the parasitic Earth creature known as the flea!" Starfire beamed.

"Don't ever say that word!" Beast Boy growled, shuddering at the thought. "We should watch a good horror movie!"

"Man, are you stupid? We can't show a toddler a slasher flick!" Cyborg frowned.

While Beast Boy and Cyborg started to argue with Starfire occasionally giving her opinions about the matter, Robin decided to choose for himself. He grabbed the remote and pressed some buttons experimentally, gasping in amazement as the picture on screen changed. He stopped on one image that reminded him of his nursery and dropped the remote, crawling closer. He sat himself down in front of the TV and stared as some furry red thing with big eyes laughed happily. Robin grinned and started to laugh too.

"Aw who changed the channel to this?" Beast Boy grimaced.

"What kind of Earth species are those?" Starfire asked.

"They're puppets, Star. It's called Sesame Street. It's a TV show specially made for little kids." Cyborg explained.

"Well I'm not watching this!" Beast Boy said and grabbed the remote. He changed the channel, but the second he did, Robin burst into tears. "Come on, Robin. That show is so lame." The changeling insisted, but Robin wasn't going to hear it. He turned to face Beast Boy and screamed until his face was extremely red.

"God, BB just turn it back!" Cyborg yelled over Robin's shrill shrieking. His hands were pressed to his ears. "Before we all go deaf!"

"Fine! Fine!" Beast Boy huffed and changed it back. He rolled his eyes in irritation at the way Robin immediately went silent the second he got his way. "Brat."

Robin turned and stuck his tongue out at him. Suddenly, Elmo disappeared from the screen, only to be replaced by a familiar orange and black mask. Robin let out gasp. "Slade!" He cried out and made grabby hands towards the screen.

"Hello, Robin. Are you having fun with your friends?" Slade asked casually.

Robin thought about it for a moment and nodded slowly. "Slade." He repeated.

"Yes, I know you miss your nursery, but the Titans wish to take care of you now. Who am I to deny them such a great responsibility?" The criminal asked and the Titans could just hear the smug maliciousness in his voice.

"What did you do to him?" Beast Boy frowned. "He's completely messed up!"

"You don't like it? Hm, I thought it was an improvement." Slade shrugged. Then like a father unable to resist checking up on his child, he asked "has he eaten?"

Raven nodded. "I take it he no longer uses silverware?"

Slade nodded. "And you might want to consider investing in chairs with a bit more room and stability to them."

"Slade." Robin repeated, his hands touching the screen now. "Slade, Slade, Slade, Slade, Slade."

Slade sighed. "You wouldn't happen to have a pacifier would you?"

Raven turned to Beast Boy. "Go get it." And the changeling quickly left to fetch the item.

"Why did you do this to him, Slade?" Cyborg frowned. "Is there a reason or are you really just that sick?"

Slade tuned out Robin's voice and stared at Cyborg. "Are you being sincere? You still haven't figured out why I forced Robin into mental regression?"

"Don't mess with me, man! Just tell us how to fix it!" Cyborg replied.

"Foolish Titan, there is no need to fix what isn't broken." Slade told him. He watched as Beast Boy returned and handed it over to Raven, who stuck the rubber into Robin's mouth. The boy let out a whine but immediately stopped talking. "Much better." Slade sighed. "Now I'm guessing that you have never cared for a child before, let alone a fully grown child. I'd appreciate it if you didn't kill him. It would be for the best until the time that he returns to me." He added before ending the transmission. A single document appeared on their screen and Raven immediately opened it up.

"What does it say?" Beast Boy asked as he pulled Robin away from the screen. He was still touching it to try and make Slade come back.

Raven shrugged. "He sent us babysitting instructions." She said dryly. "We have to give him a bath."

"Slade actually did that?" Beast Boy cried out. "Ew!"

"Isn't that against the law?" Cyborg frowned.

"It's pervy!" Beast Boy grimaced. "I'm not giving him a bath."

"I'm with BB. That's just wrong." Cyborg crossed his arms. The two boys let out a cry when Raven gave them her scariest look with her teeth bared and her eyes blazing.

"Oh yes you will!" She growled. "If I have to clean him up after he shits himself, the least you can do is give him a fucking bath!"

"Fine! Fine! Okay!" Cyborg said, holding his hands up in fear. He picked Robin up with one arm wrapped around Robin's middle so that he was hanging from the robot's arms. Beast Boy tried to sneak away, but Cyborg grabbed onto him tightly and dragged him out of the room. "If I have to do this, then so do you!" He declared.

"Please! Don't' make me!" Beast Boy cried and his begging grew softer and more distant as he and Cyborg took the elevator up to the top floor.

"Shut it before Robin starts copying you." Cyborg ordered. He carried/dragged the two into Robin's room and straight to his bathroom. "You start running a bath while I get Robin some clothes to wear." He stated and headed back into the bedroom, going straight to Robin's closet. He opened it up and frowned. Robin didn't seem to own any pajamas. He checked his drawers. Nope, nothing there either. Cyborg shrugged and grabbed a uniform and a diaper, carrying the stuff into the bathroom and setting it on the counter. While the water slowly filled the tub, Cyborg and Beast Boy stared at Robin, who stared right back in silence. He gave his pacifier another suck and looked down at his toes.

"So…how's Slade?" Beast Boy asked, earning an eye roll from Cyborg. When Robin didn't reply, Beast Boy frowned.

"Maybe that's too complicated of a question." Cyborg shrugged. "Raven did say he had the mentality of a baby."

"Hmmm…" Beast Boy thought. "Robin? How old are you?" He asked. Robin didn't reply.

"That's probably confusing for him. What about this? Robin? What is your name?" Cyborg asked. Still nothing.

"I think he's broken." Beast Boy frowned.

"Whatever, just start taking his clothes off." Cyborg said as he located soap and shampoo.

"Ew! No! Dude, you do it!" Beast Boy cried.

"Stop being so squeamish! Just grow a pair and do it!" Cyborg snapped at him.

Beast Boy whined and turned to Robin who was staring at the changeling. He slowly took a hold of Robin's shirt and pulled it off, then reached for the tapes of his diaper with shaking hands. Robin watched as Beast Boy untaped his diaper and pulled it off, then transformed into a gorilla so that he could easily set Robin down in the tub. Once he morphed back, and let out a another "eewwwww!" and shook his head wildly. "You have to take him out!" He said.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. "Calm down." He said and lathered up a wash cloth with soap. "Here, you wash his hair." He handed Beast Boy the bottle of shampoo.

Beast Boy squeezed it out into his hand. "Okay, Robin. Wet your hair." He instructed, frowning when Robin just looked at him. "Dude, are you deaf? I said get your hair wet." When he still didn't obey, Beast Boy got impatient and pushed Robin's head back until it was submerged in water. Robin coughed and spat out his pacifier, lifting his head up as he tried to get the water out of his lungs.

"Dude! We're supposed to be bathing him! Not trying to drown him!" Cyborg shouted.

"Well he wouldn't wet his hair!" Beast Boy sighed in frustration. The shampoo in his hands was now completely washed away. He thought it couldn't get worse until Robin started to cry.

"You see what you did?" Cyborg grumbled. He put down the wash cloth and awkwardly reached out to Robin in an attempt to comfort him. "Just calm down, dude. You're okay."

"How do you turn it off?" Beast Boy groaned.

"I think it's up to Robin." Cyborg sighed.

Beast Boy moaned. "Wait! Maybe I can make him stop crying!" He stated. "Hey Robin!" He made sure the boy was looking at him. "Watch this!" He morphed into a puppy and looked at the boy cutely. Sure enough, his plan worked and Robin's cries began to die down. He turned into a kitten and mewled adorably. Robin stopped crying and smiled. Before Beast Boy could change back, Robin grabbed him and pulled him into the water. Beast Boy let out screeching yowl and desperately tried to get out of the water, but Robin was holding onto him tightly, giggling with pleasure.

Cyborg was dying. "Serves you right, Beast Boy!" He howled, but he felt bad for his friend so he leaned over and took the green cat out of Robin's hands. Once he was on the floor, Beast Boy quickly morphed back. He was panting and soaking wet.

"Dude! Not cool!" Beast Boy glared at Robin, who laughed in reply.

"Just be glad he's not crying anymore." Cyborg snickered and tossed him the shampoo. "Wash his hair before it gets too dry."

Beast boy grumbled as he lathered Robin's hair up with shampoo. "How am I going to rinse it?" He asked his friend.

"Use your imagination." Cyborg ordered.

Beast Boy glared at him and morphed into a baby elephant. He sucked the bathwater into his trunk and sprayed it over Robin's head in order to rinse out the soap. Robin squealed excitedly at his own personal rain storm and shook his head, making water spray everywhere. Once his hair had been thoroughly rinsed, Beast Boy morphed back once more. "There. Have fun feeling up Robin's body." He teased smugly.

"Shut up, man." Cyborg grimaced and grabbed the wash cloth. He covered his entire hand with it and pressed it again Robin's back in order to clean him. Robin giggled as the sensation tickled and tried to squirm away, but Cyborg kept a firm hold on his arm. "Dude, there's something wrong with Robin's body." He stated.

Beast Boy looked up from drying himself off with a towel. "What do you mean?"

"Look at him! Do you see any hair? And I feel like I'm going to break his arm, it's so skinny." Cyborg frowned. "Just look at his ribs."

Beast Boy glanced over and frowned. "You think Slade did something?"

Cyborg shrugged. "I don't know, but it's very possible. He could have given Robin some sort of drug that made his body deplete into that of a child."

Beast Boy shuddered. "That's so messed up."

Cyborg nodded and scrubbed his arms clean, making Robin squeak with laughter when he had to do his armpits. As he moved down Robin's body, he started to shift uncomfortably and skipped over his groin to wash his legs and feet instead. Robin occupied himself with the various floating shampoo bottles while he was washed. It wasn't Slade's custom-made bath toys, but it was something.

"Come oooonnn, Cyboooorg." Beast Boy gleefully teased. "You gotta do it!"

"Shut up, dude! It's already hard enough without you distracting me!" The bigger teen snapped.

Hearing that, Beast Boy crumpled to the floor in laughter, making Cyborg blush. He slowly put the soapy cloth against Robin's stomach, inching downwards until he reached his hip bones. Robin looked down and like Slade had taught him to do during bath time, he got on his hands and knees. Cyborg turned bright red at how uncomfortable the whole situation was and forced himself to keep his eyes open as he wiped down Robin's ass, balls, inner thighs, and penis which he was NOT going to describe in any way, shape or form.

"Okay there!" Cyborg said quickly and Robin sat back down, making both boys let out a sigh of relief.

"Wait, don't we have to dry him off?" Beast Boy asked and Cyborg groaned. He pulled the plug and waited for the tub to empty before wrapping Robin in a towel and lifting him out of the tub. He kept the boy's groin covered with the towel and grabbed another one to dry his hair and body.

"Okay, Beast Boy, get the diaper ready." Cyborg ordered. Once it was laid out on the floor, he rested Robin on top of it and counted to three before removing the towel. Trying to ignore the fact that Robin was completely shaved and unintentionally half-hard, he rushed to coat the boy in baby powder and tape up the diaper.

"If Robin could see himself right now, I think he'd jump off of a cliff from the embarrassment." Beast Boy said.

"No kidding." Cyborg agreed and started to tug on Robin's uniform tights. He had no problem getting them on, but when he reached the diaper, Cyborg found that no amount of strength could get the tight pants up and over it. Beast Boy even added his own strength, but they gave up when the pants threatened to tear. "You know what? Robin doesn't need pants." Cyborg said as he tossed the green garment aside. He picked up his uniform shirt and pulled it down over Robin's head, then helped him get his arms in the sleeves. "There." He smiled victoriously. "Perfect!" He left Beast Boy to clean up the bathroom while he carried Robin back downstairs and set him on the couch. "Done."

Starfire gasped when she saw Robin and rushed over, squeezing him tightly. "Oh Robin! You are most adorable in your uniform shirt and garment worn by young offspring!" She chattered excitedly and cuddled him while Robin just giggled and put his fingers in his mouth.

"Don't excite him, Star. He has to go to bed." Raven said as she read the instructions Slade had sent.

Robin looked up at the sound of that. "Sleepies." He stated, then shook his head. "No sleepies."

"Cyborg and Beast Boy can-." Raven started.

"Nuh-uh! No way! We have gone through enough for today. BB and I are going to sit down and play video games until our brains are fried. You can take care of baby bird over here." Cyborg said as he sat down on the couch away from Robin.

Raven sighed and turned to Starfire. "Looks like it's our turn."


	18. Titan's Baby Bird Pt 3

Starfire insisted on carrying Robin up to his room and once there, happily tucked him into bed. "Rest now, friend, so that we may have more of the fun tomorrow!" She beamed, hugging him tightly before backing up. Robin immediately sat up and slipped out of bed. Starfire found him crawling over and giggled. "No, Robin. You must stay and rest." She smiled, carrying him back to bed and tucking him back in. She turned around again when she heard the ruffling of sheets, frowning a little when she found Robin on the floor once more. "Please, Robin. It is necessary that you sleep." She insisted.

"No sleepies!" Robin declared and looked around for something to place with, but he couldn't find his toys anywhere.

Raven walked in and Starfire nearly tackled her. "Oh Raven, Robin does not wish to partake in the sleep!" She cried worriedly, gripping Raven's shoulders tightly.

"Calm down, Starfire." Raven sighed. "He probably just needs a little help."

Starfire looked at her in confusion. "Help? What kind of help?"

Raven looked over at Robin. "Sometimes babies have trouble falling asleep on their own, so they are lulled to sleep using music, soothing motions, and comforting objects." She recited from the parenting site she had been studying on the computer.

"I see. I shall sing him a traditional Tamaranian lullaby!" Starfire said happily.

"Umm, no. I'll just use my powers to make him fall asleep. It should be fairly easy seeing as sleep is something that comes naturally to the body." Raven stated. She lifted Robin back onto the bed using her powers and Starfire insisted on tucking him in. Raven stepped forward and shushed Robin as he began to whine. "You need to sleep." Raven told him.

"No sleepies!" Robin cried. He knew that it was time for bed, but where was his bottle? Why wasn't Slade coming to scoop him up and carry him to the rocking chair? Where was the rocking chair anyways? Why didn't he have his pacifier or his blanky or his teddy? It was all wrong. There was no sleepy time without these things. He wanted Slade.

"Yes, Robin. You need to go to bed." Raven told him.

Robin looked at her and she cursed to herself as his eyes filled with tears. "I want Slade!" He started to bawl.

Starfire gasped at the sound of that and sent Raven a worried look. Raven just shook her head at the girl, motioning for her to remain silent. "Robin, do not make me put you to sleep." She warned.

Robin simply cried louder and thrashed around in the bed. "Slaaaaade! Slade! Slade! Slade!"

Raven took a deep breath. "Starfire, hold him down." She told the girl. Starfire flew over to the bed and used one hand to hold Robin's wrists above his head while her other arm pinned his legs to the bed. Raven sat down on the edge and pressed three fingers to Robin's forehead before closing her eyes to concentrate. She pushed into Robin's mind and could feel the restless fight inside his own mind. It was full of confusion and fear and even a hint of anger. It was powerful and resistant, so Raven pushed forward. Sleep, Robin. She ordered and forced the panic back. Slowly, the thoughts began to calm and quiet until Raven could sense his mind going into a state of complete peace. She withdrew from his mind and opened her eyes, relieved to see that Robin was fast asleep. Starfire fixed the sheets once more, bringing the covers up to his chin before the two girls left. Raven turned off the lights and shut the door and then returned to the living area.

"This is more trouble than it's worth." Raven huffed as she went over to the kitchen to make some tea.

"Why can't Slade take him back? I'm sure Robin wouldn't mind." Beast Boy spoke up.

Starfire gasped in disbelief. "Friends! How could you say such things about friend Robin? He is our family and he needs us! He would do the same for us." She said sadly, looking down.

Cyborg sighed. "You're right, Star. We shouldn't be complaining. It's just been a weird day."

"And we will get through this weirdness." Starfire promised him. "We must have the patience."

It turns out that was much easier said than done. Every Titan was roused early in the morning by the shrill cries coming from Robin's room. Their first instinct was to think that their leader was in some sort of trouble and every roused and hurried over to Robin's room. They found him sitting up in bed curled into a ball and bawling his eyes out.

"Dude! It's three in the morning! What is your problem?" Beast Boy snapped. He was not at all happy about being woken up for nothing.

"Robin Is something the matter?" Starfire asked worriedly as she walked over to the bed.

Robin looked at her with big watery eyes filled with pleading. "Slade." He sobbed.

"Oh not this again." Cyborg groaned and rubbed his head. "Man, I am too tired for this."

Raven stepped forward and sat down beside Starfire. "Tell me what's wrong, Robin." She instructed.

Robin simply repeated Slade's name once more.

"What if he has been hurt?" Starfire asked worriedly.

"By who? Nobody can get to him here." Cyborg told her.

"Maybe he's hungry." Beast Boy suggested.

"Or maybe…" Raven murmured, leaning over and pressing her hand against the front of his diaper. "He needs to be changed." She nodded in confirmation.

"Alright well I'm going back to bed." Beast Boy yawned, but before he could leave, Raven used her powers to slam the door shut.

"I don't think so. It's your turn to take care of him." Raven stated.

"No fair! We were the last ones to change him!" Beast Boy protested.

"Yes, but we had to put him to bed and I had to change his dirty diapers." Raven growled. She grabbed a diaper and pushed it against Beast Boy's chest. "So go do it." Before the changeling could argue, she grabbed Starfire's arm and pulled her out of the room.

"No fair." Beast Boy grumbled. "How come Starfire doesn't ever have to do anything?"

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "You really don't get it?" When Beast Boy shook his head, Cyborg groaned and picked up Robin, relieved when he stopped crying for the moment. "Raven doesn't want to make Starfire see Robin naked because she wants to protect her. Starfire's the most innocent person I've ever met and she probably wouldn't understand. Hey! Cut that out!" He demanded when Robin put his mouth on Cyborg's metallic shoulder and started to drool all over it. "BB, go get the changing mat." Cyborg ordered and once it was laid out on the floor, he rested Robin on top of it. "I'm gonna go get the supplies from the bathroom. You untape his diaper." He told Beast Boy. He turned and made it a few feet towards the bathroom, stopping when he heard Beast Boy shriek.

"EW!" Beast Boy screamed and held his hands up as Robin started to urinate again, all over him. Cyborg nearly fell over with laughter as Beast Boy squeezed his eyes shut and reached out for the front of Robin's diaper. By the time he located it and covered up Robin's penis, he was soaked and completely disgusted. "DUDE! He pissed on me!" He screeched.

"That's what you get." Cyborg laughed. "Don't you know that you're supposed to keep his groin covered in case that happens?"

"I do now." Beast Boy grumbled. He got up, leaving Robin on the floor with his diaper untaped. "I'm taking a shower. You can change him."

Cyborg chuckled and grabbed the items from the bathroom before allowing Beast Boy to enter and shut the door behind him. He knelt down by Robin and grimaced, making sure the boy was done peeing before removing the soaked diaper and tossing it in the trash. He lifted Robin's feet in the air and wiped up his bottom before bringing them back down and pushing his legs apart. The robot did his best to avoid looking at Robin's genitals and cleaned him up as quickly as he could. Once clean, he coated his bottom and groin in the white powder and taped him up in the new diaper. "There." He smiled in accomplishment. He then picked Robin back up and yawned as he set him back into bed. Thankfully, thankfully, Robin was already dozing again so he tucked him into bed and turned the lights back off. He waited until Beast Boy came out of the bathroom and shushed him before he could say a word and together they snuck out of Robin's bedroom.


	19. Coming Home to Daddy Pt 1

For the next three weeks, the Titans were stuck babysitting Robin. Every morning they woke up to him crying and the Titans (except for Starfire) would take turns changing his diaper and dressing him for the day. Usually they just let him crawl around in his uniform shirt and diapers, but Starfire had insisted on going to the mall and buying him an adorable new wardrobe. A majority of it was from the boys 9-12 section, but Robin was so small that it didn't really matter. After a while, the TV wasn't enough to entertain Robin for the whole day and the boys had threatened to destroy the monitor if they didn't watch something other than baby shows and Disney movies. This led to the Titans acquiring some toys that Robin himself had helped pick out. He often spent the entire morning playing with blocks or toy cars. Using her powers and his engineering skills, Raven and Cyborg constructed a high chair and a crib for Robin, since he kept rolling out of bed and waking everyone up in the middle of the night with his cries. Unfortunately, any attempts at potty training (embarrassing as it was for the Titans) were complete and utter failures so eventually they just gave up on that. Robin did however get used to feeding himself without making too much of a mess if he was wearing a bib. Bath time became a bit easier as the boys got used to seeing Robin naked, and soon they didn't think twice about seeing the boy's privates.

A few days after Robin's return, Raven sat down with him in his room and tried to recover his memories. He had his pacifier in his mouth, something that the Titans had discovered the power of on his third day back at the tower. He'd had the pacifier in his mouth and was whining urgently, unable to talk until Beast Boy had pulled out his pacifier. It was only then that Robin had stated that he was thirsty. Halfway through his chanting, Beast Boy had stuck the pacifier back into his mouth and had been surprised to find that Robin went completely silent. Raven had walked in on him and Cyborg pulling the pacifier in and out of Robin's mouth and laughing as he chanted and quieted. It was like Robin was the TV and the pacifier was the mute button.

Raven had barely uncovered anything during that first session, but she repeated this every day for an hour with the boy until he started whining about his head hurting. However, after a week, his coordination improved and some of his vocabulary had returned to his memory. After a week, he was walking on two feet and joining Beast Boy and Cyborg for video games, even if he always lost. After the second week, Robin was experimenting with cups, but always kept his bottle close by. Even more impressive, by three weeks Robin was back in the gym working out and regaining muscle. He had gotten back a large amount of his memory but unfortunately, with memory came modesty. Bath time and diaper changes had become awkward once more.

After almost two months of daily sessions with Raven, Robin was almost completely back to his former self. He was still diaper dependent, but bathing had become an independent thing and he could now dress himself. He no longer required the use of high chairs or cribs or sippy cups and made it very clear to all that he was NOT a baby. The Titans had respectfully agreed with him, but that didn't mean they were oblivious to him sneaking sippy cups and pacifiers or crawling into his crib after whoever changed him that night had left his room. Yes, the boy was progressing wonderfully, but old habits died extremely hard and thanks to Slade, Robin had a lot of them.

A few more weeks passed before Raven granted Robin his weapons and gadgets. She made sure Robin was always supervised during target practice with his birdarangs, but after a while even that was no longer necessary. A couple days after Robin had switched his diapers for pull-ups, the others agreed that Robin was ready to go out again, but only on small missions. This opportunity came around eight-thirty on a Friday in early May. The HIVE 5 were robbing a video store and when the Titans burst in through the door, the last thing they were expecting to see was Robin glaring at them through his mask.

"Robin?" Jinx gaped. The HIVE members all looked at each other, exchanging shocked glances before falling to the ground in laughter. "You think you're going to beat us?"

"Why don't you run along and snuggle your teddy bear, you big baby." Gizmo cackled.

Robin's eyes narrowed angrily and he pulled out his bo staff. "I don't know if you've heard, but that's over and done with. Slade…" He faltered for a second before regaining focus. "Slade lost."

Jinx smirked at him. "Fine, diaper boy, but don't come crying to me if you get a booboo."

Robin reddened and he let out war cry as he charged at them and threw down a smoke bomb before attacking Jinx. She sensed him at the last minute and whirled around, shooting a wave of pink magic at him. He just barely dodged it, flipping over the sorceress and landing on his feet. Mammoth grabbed him from behind and restrained him in a rib-breaking grip.

"Looks like you need a spanking." The gigantic teen stated only to be run over by a large green ram. Robin somersaulted away from them and advanced on Seemore, trying to ignore the boy's giggles.

"You wearing big boy pants now?" The boy asked, switching over to X-ray vision. "Nope, still potty training, I see." He snickered and Robin's face turned hot in a mixture of rage and shame.

"Shut up!" He growled. He knew he shouldn't let the enemy see how much their words were affecting him, but emotions were something that Raven had only worked on with him for a little bit. He still had a bad habit of crying whenever he was upset or frustrated. He jumped up and kicked Seemore in the face, knocking him back. Robin hit the ground and rolled over. He attempted to jump up and nearly choked when his cape was pinned to the floor. He hit his back and groaned, looking up to see who the offender was. Suddenly, he felt his pull-up getting very warm very quickly as he stared up at the orange and black mask.

"Why, hello, Robin. Odd seeing you here." Slade commented as he lifted his foot off of Robin's cape.

The boy quickly scrambled away and looked at him in astonishment. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Slade said, looking him over. "My, my, playing the role of the hero again, are we? Are you enjoying your game of pretend?"

Robin glared at him. "We'll see who's making jokes when I defeat you." He snapped.

"Alright, then. Show me what a big boy you are." Slade said and Robin could just imagine the smirk he had to have been wearing behind the mask.

"Get away from him!" Raven demanded, using her powers to throw Slade across the room. "Get back in the T-car, Robin."

"What? No! I can take him." Robin replied. By now everyone had stopped fighting and the Titans surrounded Robin while the Hive 5 stood by to watch the show.

"Oh, come now, Robin. Do you really want to fight? I simply came here to get back what has been taken from me." Slade stated.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Cyborg spoke up.

Slade looked directly at Robin. "My baby."


	20. Coming Home to Daddy Pt 2

Robin's eyes widened and he fought down a blushed. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He muttered, averting his eyes.

"Oh really? I suppose Raven has used her powers to help you reverse the mental regression?" Slade asked. When he received silence, he nodded. "That's what I thought." Slade stepped forward a few feet and seemed to analyze Robin. "But you know, Robin, magic can only do so much."

Robin looked up and scowled at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, that with just the right triggers, I can bring him back." Slade replied. "I can push your logic and responsibility and independence to the back of your mind where it can sit until I'm ready to use it again. All it takes is one. Little. Trigger."

Robin nearly gasped as Slade presented the teddy that he had been so attached to and set it on the floor. He nearly began to walk towards it, but at the last second, he stopped and stepped back again. Off to the side, he could hear snickering and see the smug faces of the Hive 5. He was going to prove them wrong. He was going to show them and Slade and everyone else that he wasn't a baby. He was the boy wonder.

"I knew you were still in there." Slade chuckled. "How about this then?" He asked, pulling out Robin's favored blanky. "Remember how I used to wrap you up in this and feed you bottles in the rocking chair? Tell me, Robin. Have your friends ever fed you any bottles?"

Robin found himself unintentionally shaking his head and his gloved fingers started finding their way to his mouth before he quickly pulled them away again. He could feel it in his mind and in his body. He could feel every soft touch, taste the warm, creamy formula and picture the mobile hanging over his crib; turning slowly and hypnotizing him into sleep. "Just get out of here." He muttered.

"Now Robin, you don't really want that. Stop worrying about what your friends think." Slade said. "I know you haven't given it up yet." He stated. "You aren't fooling me."

Robin glared at him again and raised his staff again. "Shut up! You don't know anything." He snarled.

"Really? Because I think I do. Tell me, Robin: in which pocket of your utility belt do you keep your pacifier?" Slade asked, his voice infuriatingly relaxed.

Robin nearly choked on air as his eyes widened comically. His face turned bright red and he took a step back towards the Titans. "I know what you're trying to do, Slade. You're trying to trigger me into running back to you. It won't work."

Slade pretended not to hear him. "I bet you miss being my baby bird." He said, walking closer to him. The Titans immediately created a protective wall around Robin and prepared to attack. "You miss the bottles…"

"No I don't." Robin protested.

"The bathtime…"

"Shut up!"

"The diaper changes…"

"You're full of shit." Robin said, but his voice was starting to get weaker.

"Why deny it? Come back and be my baby, Robin." Slade said.

"No! Never." Robin replied.

"It's what you want inside." Slade retorted.

"No, it's not!" Robin insisted.

"We all know you're lying. Even you friends see it."

"Titans no bye bye!" Robin yelled. His eye enlarged to the size of saucers and he slapped a hand over his mouth.

"There it is." Slade said, probably grinning behind his mask. "Come on, Birdy. Come back to your nursery."

Robin shook his head and took a deep breath. "N-no." He said, not daring to say anything more. Slade started to speak again, but Robin cut him off when he charged at him, kicking him in the face. He turned around and send punches his way, but the man easily dodged the attacks. In a flash, he dropped to the floor and brought his leg out. The attack swept Robin's legs out from under him and the boy fell down hard on his back. Almost immediately, Slade pinned him down and his fingers ghosted over the waistband of the green tights. In one quick motion, he tugged the boy's tights halfway down his thighs, ignoring Robin's cry of protest.

"Poor baby. How long have you needed to be changed?" Slade asked as he inspected the soaked pull-up that squished and swelled between Robin's tiny legs. "Let's hope you don't have a rash."

"No!" Robin protested again. "No owies! No! No! No!" He wildly beat his fists against Slade's chest.

The Hive 5 watched in smug, gleeful satisfaction as Robin completely unraveled, whining much more than he had been earlier. As Slade continued goading him into returning to the lair, whimpers of confusion and frustration and helplessness escaped in the young hero's throat. He started squirming desperately.

Slade shushed him and stroked his hair surprisingly gently as Robin's will shattered before his eyes. The boy let out small grunts and whimpers that Slade found adorable and his fingers slowly traveled down to his jaw. Slowly, he reached down with his other hand and ran it over Robin's belt until he found just the bump he was looking for. Ignoring the boy's soft protesting whines, he slipped his fingers into the pocket and pulled out the pacifier. "Look what I found."

"No…no..." Robin whimpered miserably but Slade quickly silenced him by slipping the rubber nipple of the object into his mouth. Masked eyes locked onto each other and Slade watched him curiously, wondering if he would speak or not. He glanced over at the Titans, who were frozen in horror at the way Robin was deconstructing from five minutes of Slade's words despite two months of Raven's mental training. Slade studied him carefully a little longer, almost daring him to speak. A grin spread across his face under the mask as Robin reddened in shame and looked away from him in defeat, sucking on the pacifier as if it was a life line.

"Good boy, Robin. Do you see now? You may pretend to be a big boy, but everybody knows that you're nothing but a baby bird." Slade stated. He reached up to Robin's face and stroked his hair and forehead once more before moving his fingers down to pinch the corner of his mask. He heard the alien girl's gasp as he ripped off the mask and stared into the big blue eyes of his baby. That's when Robin completely lost it. Pacifier in mouth, wet diaper on display, and eyes revealed, they soon filled with tears and he started to cry. Slade released his hold on Robin and tugged his pants back up before scooping the boy into his arms like he had done so many times before.

"Put him down!" Cyborg commanded, shaking out of his stupor. "There is no way he's going with you!"

"Oh really?" Slade asked as he wrapped the blanky around Robin's shoulders. He picked up the bear and slipped it into Robin's arms and the boy snuggled it tightly, burying his face into Slade's shoulder. He was wet and sad and confused and he didn't want to fight with the Hive 5 anymore. He just wanted to go home and snuggle his teddy and crawl around in his warm, fuzzy sleepers that he loved so much.

"Yes, and I can guarantee that there is no way you are leaving with him." Raven replied sternly.

"Why don't we let him choose?" Slade suggested. He set Robin down on the floor, much to the boy's distress. He cried out and got on his knees, reaching out and making grabby hands for Slade. "No, Robin. You must choose between me or the Titans."

"Robin!" Starfire called to him. "Do not go with that evil man! We are your friends and we love you! We will take care of you!"

"Hmm, fifty bucks he goes with the Titans." Gizmo muttered to Seemore who chuckled and shook hands.

"You're on."

"C'mon, man, don't do this." Cyborg warned. "Slade is your enemy."

Slade said absolutely nothing. He stood a bit farther away from Robin than the Titans were with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked down at the boy patiently.

Robin sat in the middle looking ready to start crying and looked back and forth between his friends and Slade. He looked at Slade pleadingly, but the man remained silent and still.

"Dude! Are you seriously contemplating this? Come on!" Beast Boy cried. "We're your friends!"

Robin shut his eyes and whined. He was so lost. He knew that the Titans were his friends and that they cared about him, but they also cared about getting rid of everything that Slade had built up for him and he very much preferred the treatment he had received from Slade. Sure, at first it had been completely humiliating, but Robin could help feeling as if Slade actually cared about him now. He comforted him and played with him and kept him clean, even though he had plenty of servants to do those things. Like it or not, Slade had created something very special and extremely exclusive between them. Something that Robin wasn't quite sure he wanted to let go of. He let out a sigh and pressed his face against his bear then looked up at Slade and pointed to his pacifier for permission. When the man nodded, Robin pulled it out and opened his mouth, looking at his "daddy" with large, defeated eyes. "Slade no bye bye."


	21. Very Much Missed

Starfire let out a shrill gasp. "Robin!"

"Dammit." Gizmo muttered as Seemore chuckled victoriously.

Slade's demeanor didn't change as he walked forward and picked up the young hero that was making grabby hands for him. Once Robin was back on his hip, he nodded to the Titans. "Thank you for taking care of him. Goodbye for now."

As they turned and left, the Titans, for lack of better words, flipped their shit. They all called after him and Starfire started to cry, feeling very betrayed by her best friend.

"Are you insane?" Beast Boy squeaked. "How could you be such a traitor? How could you pick him?"

"Dude! I gave you baths and wiped up your shit!" Cyborg snapped angrily. "We took care of you! And now you're going to return the favor by betraying us?"

Robin frowned at their harsh words and buried his face into Slade's chest as the man carried him out of the building and out of sight.

Even Raven was looking more angry than usual. A row of dvd shelves behind her collapsed suddenly and then the movies shattered when the 5 started to laugh. "Serves you right, you crud-sniffing Titans!" Gizmo said smugly. While he was a little bent out of shape over losing the bet, seeing the shocked and hurt looks on the heroes' faces had been a reward all on its own.

"I knew Robin was still just a big baby." Jinx stated smugly. "It was only a matter of time and now you'll never see him again." Feeling that there was nothing more to be done, the group of criminals headed back to their headquarters, leaving the Titans alone with their thoughts and feelings or betrayal.

Beast Boy sighed. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing." He admitted.

"Robin has left us. He has chosen the criminal Slade over his own friends." Starfire rasped, sounding like her heart had been broken beyond prepare. "He no longer wishes to be our friend."

"That's not true, Star. Robin's just confused. He doesn't know what to do right now." Raven told her.

"What do we do now?" Beast Boy asked.

"We do what we did before. We find Robin." Raven replied.

Robin held onto Slade tightly as they walked into the criminal's lair. His arms were tight around the man's neck, as if he thought that loosening his grip would mean losing him again. He looked over and recognized Red-X lounging in Slade's throne with his masked head in his hand. When he saw Robin, however, he immediately got to his feet. "You got him back?"

"Obviously." Slade replied. He didn't give the thief anymore information as he made a beeline for Robin's nursery. It was exactly the way Slade had left it, with his drawings taped to the door. "Why don't we get you changed?" He said, hoisting Robin up onto the changing table.

The boy stiffened for a moment and just about melted at the feeling of his actual changing table. The padding, the familiar scent of baby powder, it had all stayed the same and he found that after two months of a changing mat on his floor or bed, he had missed it dearly.

Slade approached the table and slipped his fingers under the waistband of his tights, pulling them down and removing them completely. He dropped them onto the floor and inspected the pull-up. "It's quite a miracle that these haven't leaked." He commented and tugged that off as well before promptly disposing of it.

Robin felt his legs being lifted into the air and the gentle, calming movements of Slade wiping him clean nearly put him to sleep. Diaper changes with Beast Boy and Cyborg had always been rough, hesitant, and awkward and Raven's, while not as painful, were just as bad. He'd never realized just how delicate Slade really was with him, even in the beginning and he was beginning to think he had made the right choice. His groin was cleaned thoroughly and it completely lacked the uncomfortable reluctance of his usual diaper changes. A generous coat of powder was sprinkled on and a soft, thick diaper was taped onto him. The right kind.

Before picking him up, Slade stripped off the rest of Robin's clothes other than his mask which had been left at the video store. Then he dressed the boy in a soft cotton romper that had a small red and yellow bird stitched over the heart. He wrapped him in his blanket once more and carried him over to the rocking chair, the sight nearly bringing tears to the young hero's eyes. Right on cue, Red-X entered with a familiar bottle of formula and handed it over to Slade before leaning against the changing table to observe the two.

If Robin had been having any second thoughts about choosing Slade over his friends, they vanished completely the second Slade slipped the bottle's rubber nipple into his mouth. Habit immediately kicked in and he suckled the white liquid, closing his eyes in utter bliss as the warm, creamy milk slipped over his tongue and down his throat. A hand was brought to his head to stroke his hair and the slow rocking brought everything together. It wasn't long before Robin began to doze. Once the milk was gone, (a little bit sooner than usual) Slade replaced the bottle with his boy's pacifier and kept up the rocking. Then he picked up the sleepy teen and changed positions so that Robin's head was on his shoulder and his fists were gripping the fabric that covered his chest. Supporting him by his puffy bottom, Slade switched back and forth between rubbing Robin's back and patting his butt. While he couldn't easily see if Robin was asleep or not, he listened carefully for his breathing to even out and waited patiently. Eventually, Red-X nodded in confirmation and Slade carefully stood, walking over to the crib and placing him in for the first time in what felt like years. He tucked the blankets around Robin with his blanky still wrapped around his body and placed the boy's teddy under his arm before turning off the lights and leading Red-X out of the room.

"So I'm guessing the mission was a success?" Red-X asked. "What happened? Did he shit himself when he saw you? Did he cry at all? What did the Titans do?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I am not scary enough to make somebody defecate from my very presence. As for the Titans, they were quite sore over losing their leader, but I believe they will learn to get over it." Slade told him. He turned and walked over to his throne. "The Titans…they never deserved him. They didn't take care of him right. They kept him alive and quiet but that was it."

Red gasped. "What? Are you saying that you actually care about Robin?" He asked in mock astonishment.

Slade rolled his eyes beneath the mask. "Robin is important. Once he matures through my training and lessons, he will be ready to train as my apprentice. He is my ultimate prize, and I hate to lose."

"Maybe, but I saw the way your grip on him tightened when the Titans yelled at him." Red-X laughed from under his mask. "Be careful where you put your cameras, Slade." He pointed to the large screens replaying everything that had gone on in the video store.

Slade let out an irritated sigh. "If you already knew what happened, then why did you ask me?"

"I wanted to see your reaction to it all." Red-X shrugged.

"You want a reaction? I'm afraid you're going to be very disappointed." Slade replied before turning to some papers and beginning to scribble down information.

Red-X huffed. "You love him." He muttered teasingly before walking off. He never noticed Slade's hand jerk off of the paper.


	22. Daddy's Boy

"SLADE!"

The criminal mastermind looked up from his work and turned in his chair to find Red-X standing before him with limps shaking with fury. The thief's costume looked like some sort of art project. There was a rainbow of handprints from head to toe and macaroni was crudely stuck to his chest. Every time he moved, glitter fell from his cape and sparkled as they settled on the floor and there was something that looked a lot like Play-Doh jammed into his belt. Slade didn't need to see Red's unmasked face to know that the man was practically homicidal.

"I have had enough!" Red roared. "That little brat should be thrown into a vat of toxic waste!"

"Why are you so upset?" Slade asked.

"Why? WHY? Look at what that pooping machine did to my costume!" Red X snarled.

"Calm down, I'm sure it's all washable." Slade shrugged.

"You think this is all he's done? In the past three hours he's peed on me, drooled on my mask, used my belt as a pacifier, and you don't even want to KNOW where he stuck the end of my cape!" Red hissed.

"I'm sure that after a little reprimanding-."

"No, Slade!" Red cut him off. "I'm done. You can find that brat a new nanny."

"Perhaps…" Slade said after a few moments. "You're right."

Red nodded. "Exactly!"

"Perhaps taking care of a baby is too difficult of a task for you." The older man stated.

"Wait, what?" Red protested.

Slade pretended not to hear him. "I'll have to look for some potential nannies. Red, bring Robin out here to play and then clean yourself up. You're getting paint and glitter all over my floor."

Red seethed as he stomped back down the hall and returned a few minutes later with Robin in his arms. Like Red, he too was covered in handprints with a variety of different paint colors. When he saw Slade, his face lit up and he whined in protest when Red carried him right past the man and stuck him in the walker. "There, you take care of the devil's spawn now." He turned and disappeared down the hall again to go clean himself up the best he could.

Slade kept his head down towards his paperwork, but out of the corner of his eye he could see Robin staring at him. The second he lifted his head to stare back, Robin turned away and giggled, pretending to play with a toy. With a sigh, Slade resumed his work but kept an eye out for Robin's behavior. Again, Robin stared at him and looked away the second Slade returned the gaze. It was a game. Slade wasn't quite sure what the point of it was, but he was determined to win. He allowed this to go on for a few more minutes.

Robin giggled and played with the toys on the walker again, counting to some sort of high number in his head before slowly turning his head again with an excited smile on his face.

The chair was empty.

Robin frowned in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing together as he tried to figure out what had happened to Slade.

"Gotchya!" A deep voice said behind him and Robin let out a squeal as he was suddenly lifted into the air by a pair of strong arms and tossed up, only to be safely caught again. He giggled and squeaked in delight, smiling widely when he caught sight of Slade's familiar mask.

"Slade!" Robin beamed. The jovial, light hearted tone of his name on the boy's tongue was so different from all those months before, when his title was spat out like a curse word directed towards a pitiful lowlife. Yes, this was so much better. Robin was quite the daddy's boy.

"Playing games, Robin?" Slade asked. He held Robin in his arms and screwed his nose up suddenly as a familiar stench hit his nose. "I hope I didn't startle you that much." He commented. Robin just giggled in reply so he raised the boy up by his armpits and got a whiff of his bottom, quickly jerking his head away. "Such a shame that Red couldn't wait twenty more minutes to quit." He sighed, but secured Robin in his arms and carried him back to the nursery.

Robin happily rested in his arms, calming down for his "daddy." It had always enraged Red how Robin was so eager to be Slade's little angel after an afternoon of playing the part of Red's ninety-nine problems. Slade took one look around the nursery as he entered and sighed. "No more arts and crafts for you, baby bird." He stated. "You're just too little for this kind of stuff. Perhaps once you've matured a bit more."

Robin just stared up at him and Slade smiled softly behind the privacy of his mask. He laid Robin on the changing table and efficiently cleaned the small teen up and re-diapering him. "I don't even know why I try building bombs when I can just send you into places with a messy diaper and a bag of craft supplies." He murmured. It was a one sided conversation, as it usually was, but it was something that Slade always liked about his time with his little baby bird. No judgment or arguing. No talk of violence or politics or whatever else that fell into the category of being a criminal. Just innocent baby talk.

Slade took a few baby wipes and did his best to remove the paint from Robin's skin. There was nothing he could do about the stained overalls, however so those were simply tossed into the hamper along with Robin's t-shirt. Slade pulled out a diaper shirt and tugged that on over Robin's head, snapping it at the crotch and adjusting the material until it fit him correctly. Once that had been accomplished, he set Robin down in his play pen while he set up a fairly new addition to the nursery.

He had come across it online by accident one day while searching for additions to Robin's wardrobe and now took it out of the box once more to connect it to the ceiling where a sturdy metal hook had been installed. It looked like a baby swing that was suspended in air by the hook. Long rubber ropes connected the hook to the actual seat. Slade scooped Robin up and buckled him into the swing. Much like the walker, his feet barely touched the floor and once Robin securely strapped in, Slade pulled the swing down a little more and watched as Robin bounced.

Robin let out an excited squeal and continued to bounce, pushing his feet off of the floor. That was all Slade needed to hear before turning his attention to the mess of a nursery before him. In the end, he simply had a few of his robots come in and clean the mess. He had much more important things to do.

Slade waited patiently until Robin had tired himself and fallen asleep in the swing. The robots had finished their job by then and all there was left to do was tuck Robin into his crib and turn out the light. He left once he had made sure Robin's classical music CDs were playing on loop. They really helped the sleep process along and sometimes, they were life savers when a bottle of milk wasn't enough to put Robin to sleep. When he was absolutely sure that Robin had everything he needed: bear, pacifier, blanky, nightlight, mobile, CD… That was when he finally allowed himself to leave.

But he kept the door open a crack just in case and took a baby monitor with him.


	23. Potty Monster

"Robin, you need to try using the potty." Red grumbled.

It was mid-July. After Slade had taken him back, the Titans seemed to have given up on finding him again. Robin was clearly happier there, so why not? But Slade knew the truth, they were relieved to have Robin off their hands. He was a distraction and a waste time and energy to them, the teenage crime fighters who had no time for little kids. That was just fine with Slade.

However, as much as Slade would have enjoyed being baby Robin's daddy, it was time that the boy grew up a little bit. Especially if he would be going to HIVE Academy in the fall. Red-X had been convinced to come back and remain as Robin's nanny, but only in exchange for a sharp increase in his pay. The two had sat down and discussed the steps to take, and they both agreed that if anything needed to go first, it was the diapers. Robin couldn't very well go to school with teenagers if he was shitting himself in the middle of combat. Slade had invested in a two training potties: one for the nursery and one for the lair. He exchanged Robin's tape diapers for thick training pull-ups and kept him in just a t-shirt and a diaper. Red-X had sat down and explained how things were going to happen, but Robin didn't seem to like the idea of going in a large plastic bowl. They both matched the nursery: red, green, and yellow, and there was a little toilet lid. Both potties had colorful plastic birds in the middle of the seat right between where Robin's legs would be. It not only served as a distraction, but it kept him balanced.

Now if only they could get him to use them.

"No potty!" Robin declared stubbornly. He was seated on the training potty with his pull-up tugged down around his ankles. Red was sitting on the floor facing him with his legs crossed and his head resting in his hands.

"Don't you wanna be a big boy?" Red asked him. He felt ridiculous talking to a fifteen year old like this.

Robin shook his head and repeated: "No potty!"

Red sighed. "If you try to make peepees then I'll give you candy." He offered.

"No peepees." Robin pouted. "Uppy!" He squirmed restlessly and bounced, pushing down on the plastic birdy.

Red let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, fine." Standing up, he lifted to boy off of the potty and tugged the diaper back up Robin's slender legs. Elmo smiled at him mockingly. The second Red let go of Robin, the boy plopped himself down on the carpet and promptly wet his pull-up. Then when he had finished, he looked up at Red innocently. "Peepees."

Red growled in frustration and his fists clenched. Robin had been pulling this little stunt since the day the potty arrived and frankly, he was getting pretty sick of it. He begrudgingly scooped him up and carried the wet little boy over to the changing table, laying him down and pushing his shirt up a little bit. Robin fussed and let out a whine of protest and Red rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I forgot." He said remorselessly and picked up the closest toy, shoving it into Robin's hands. While Robin toyed with his plastic keys, Red tugged on some latex gloves and pulled down the soaked diaper as carefully as if he was diffusing a bomb. These things had a tendency to leak, thanks to Robin's refusal to touch the potty unless he was physically placed on it. Once it was in the trash, Red swiftly cleaned Robin's bottom and privates before tugging on a fresh pull-up. "There, now let's try to use the potty next time, huh?"

Robin looked up at him, "No potty." He replied simply and crawled back over to his crayons.

Red was steaming as he marched out of the room and over to Slade. "I give up. He refuses to use the potty when he has to, and when I try to make him, he doesn't have to go! I'm sick of this!"

"Ever heard of positive reinforcement?" Slade asked calmly.

"I bribed him with candy." Red frowned. "He just won't use it!"

"Well make him." Slade commanded. "There's going to be a lot of crying if he has to go to HIVE Academy in diapers and I don't want to have to deal with it."

"He's your baby, you make him!" Red argued. He pulled out his phone and checked it. "I've gotta go, good luck." He grumbled as he disappeared into the darkness of the hall.

Slade let out a sigh. He couldn't leave Robin by himself in the nursery. He stood and made his way to the room. The second he was spotted, Robin let out a happy noise and crawled over. "Uppyyy!" He insisted, making grabby hands. Slade obliged, grabbing Robin's teddy bear before hoisting the kid onto his hip and making the trip back to the lair. Half of the room was littered with baby toys, crayons, and discarded sippy cups. As he set Robin down in the middle of it all, he made a note to have Red clean it up later. Once Robin had involved himself in whatever baby games he made up, Slade returned to his work, but would occasionally glance over at Robin for any signs that the boy might need to go. After almost two hours, Slade got up from his seat and grabbed Robin, carrying him over to the training potty near his "throne." He swiftly tugged the pull-up down Robin's tiny legs and sat him down on the potty.

"Robin, I want you to use the potty." Sladin stated.

Robin whined and shifted on the potty from side to side, obviously not agreeing with Slade's request. "No potty."

Slade closed his eyes. "Robin, do not say no to me."

Robin pouted at him and didn't reply, but he was still refusing.

"Fine. You will sit on that potty until you've made peepees." Slade declared, and the baby talk sounded absolutely ridiculous coming out of his mouth. The second he turned around, Robin crawled off of the potty, but he didn't get far before Slade caught him and returned him to his spot. "No moving Robin, or I will spank you." Robin didn't move after that, but he kept up a torturously constant string of whines, groans, whimpers and cries until Slade couldn't take it anymore. He stuck a pacifier in his mouth and turned on the large screen, changing it to one of the kiddie channels that Robin had taken a liking to during his stay with the Titans. He sighed in relief when Robin quieted and focused on the TV show. It had only been a few minutes when he detected the unmistakable sound of liquid hitting hollow plastic and he immediately looked over at Robin. The boy was still staring intently at the screen, seemingly unaware that he was going. Under his mask, Slade smirked triumphantly. He couldn't wait to rub this victory in Red's face when he returned, the incompetent thief.

Once he was sure that Robin was finished peeing and he was absolutely positive that the boy didn't need to poop as well, Slade lifted him up off of the training potty and tugged his pull-up back up. Robin seemed pretty absorbed in the show, so Slade didn't worry that much as he walked into the nursery and cleaned out the potty before returning it to its spot by the throne.

"Such a good boy." Slade murmured as he stroked Robin's hair. He sat down in his chair to continue his paperwork, but it had only been five more minutes before Robin was attempting to crawl into his lap. Slade sighed in defeat. With Robin around, he was never going to finish this work. He lifted Robin onto his lap and wrapped his arms around his tiny waist, leaning back to watch the show.

When Red-X returned from his little outing, he was surprised to find the entire lair completely silent. He walked over to the throne and found Robin fast asleep on Slade's lap. Slade brought a finger up to his mask and shooed him away, and Red was more than happy to oblige.


	24. Rub a Dub Dub, Baby Bird in the Tub

"Give it back!" Gizmo growled. He tackled Robin to the ground and tried to yank the device from his hands.

"Noooooo!" Robin whined, rolling over and crawling away from the smaller boy.

"You brat! You're gonna break it!" Gizmo snapped.

"That's what you get for turning your back on a baby." Jinx smirked. "It's your own fault that he's taken it."

"Who the hell thinks a baby will be interested in a stupid hacking device?" Gizmo argued.

"Well this isn't an ordinary baby, is it?" Jinx shrugged.

Robin giggled in agreement and stuck the device in his mouth, slicking it up with drool.

Gizmo nearly lost it. "Look at what he's doing!"

Slade sighed and shook his head as he entered the lair, smoothly pulling the device from Robin's grasp and tossing the saliva covered object into Gizmo's hands. "Ugh." He grimaced, holding it by two gloved fingers.

"You must be more careful. If that thing had short circuited, it could have hurt Robin." Slade stated. He petted the boy's hair to sooth his whines of protest at losing his new toy.

Robin was dressed in some dark blue overalls, a little red tow truck embroidered onto the chest. His diaper puffed out in the back and he was missing one sock. He looked up at Slade and immediately crawled over to the man's feet. He wrapped his arms around the man's large legs and whined again. "Uppy!"

Slade glanced down at the boy and complied, scooping him up into his arms. "Robin, do you need to use the potty?" He asked calmly, ignoring the snickers that came from the three young criminals. The small raven stubbornly shook his head so Slade nodded and carried him over to his toys. "You will tell me when you do, right?"

Robin smiled and nodded obediently before occupying himself with toys. It hadn't been forty minutes before Slade returned to Robin's side and picked him up. "It's bath time, Robin."

Hearing that, Robin cooed babyishly in agreement and hung onto Slade's shoulders. Slade held him up with an arm supporting his bottom and glanced over at the three criminals. "I will be back soon. Do try not to break anything while I'm gone." He said before disappearing down the hallway with a squealing, giggling teenager in his arms.

Once in the bathroom, Slade sat Robin down on the closed toilet lid and unhooked his shortalls, tugging them off completely. His shirt came next, then his single sock.

"Robin, please use your diaper before I but you in the tub." Slade requested. When Robin appeared to be ignoring him, he let out a sigh and pressed down on the little boy's bladder, making the diaper grow heavy and warm. It reminded him of Robin's first day as his baby and how he had refused to use his diaper. Funny how much things change over time. Once he was finished, Slade removed the saturated diaper and tossed it in the garbage before dropping Robin into the bubbly bath water he had already prepared. Pleasantly surprised by the bubble bath, Robin let out one of those excited shrills of his and splashed at the water, pushing suds onto his face and into his hair.

Slade removed his gloves and rolled his sleeves up before dipping a washcloth into the warm water and soaping it up. He gently scrubbed at Robin's skin, allowing the boy to quietly play. Once his hair and body had been watched, he gently patted Robin's inner thigh. Robin obediently got on his hands and knees in the tub, water and suds dripping down his skin, slick and shiny. The boy giggled and arched his back down, pushing his pert bottom into the air and shaking it. Slade gently brought the washcloth over the skin and delicately cleaned his genitals. Another pat to his thigh and Robin plopped back down into the water to play with the bubbles once more.

"You have five more minutes, Robin." Slade told him and got up, leaving the boy to play while he gathered changing supplies and a sleeper. Returning to the bathroom, he nearly dropped the garments when he found the bathtub empty. There was a small trail of water and suds leading out of the room. Slade sighed and set the clothes down on the toilet seat. "Oh dear. Robin!" He turned and hurried into the nursery, scanning the room for every little bit of movement. Suddenly, he froze, detecting a discreet quiver coming from the not-so-discreet lump of blankets in Robin's crib. Chuckling to himself softly, he walked in the opposite direction. "Robin?" He called again. "Where have you run off to?"

A tiny giggle emanated from the shuddering bundle and Slade stomped forward, purposely allowing the thuds to echo in the room. He couldn't believe it: he was playing a child's game. "I hear you, but I can't seem to find you." He stated. He looked around the room, opening drawers and peeking into ridiculous places. "Not in the dresser…or the diaper pail…" He pretended to ponder to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Robin peeking out at him and decided that unless he wanted to buy a new mattress for the crib, it would be best to end the game sooner than later. Turning around, he immediately spotted Robin's bright blue eyes peering out from his baby blanket and charged forward. He scooped up the entire bundle in his arms, eliciting a shrill squeal from Robin, followed by a mountain of giggles.

"Nice try, little boy." Slade chuckled as the carried his naked little bird over to the changing table. Thanks to his now damp blankets, Robin was dry for the most part. All he had to do was tape on a diaper and slip him into a clean sleeper, made of light cotton since the weather was getting increasingly warm. "It's time for your nap. Should we get your bear?" Receiving a nod, Slade settled Robin onto his hip and carried him into the lair where the three teen criminals were still waiting.

"Took you long enough." Jinx huffed.

Slade ignored her and walked over to the pile of toys in the middle of the room, selecting the prized bear from the battlefield of games, crayons, blocks, and teethers. He slipped it into Robin's awaiting arms and his binky was not far behind. Once the little hero had everything necessary for naptime, Slade had him wave goodbye to the Hive members before returning with him to the nursery.

"Ready for nigh-nighs?" He asked, and Robin immediately yawned: an instant reaction. Under his mask, a smile touched the mercenary's lips. "That's what I thought." He nodded, setting Robin in his crib and tucking his blankets around him. Raising the side of the crib, Slade petted his sleepy baby's hair until his breathing had evened out and he was absolutely sure he was asleep. He took his hand away and walked over to the door of the nursery, locking it before returning to Robin's bedside. He lowered the side of the crib once more and in one swift motion, removed the shell of a mask from his face. He slowly leaned down and pressed a kiss to Robin's head, staring down at the boy with something that strangely felt like love mixed with possession and pride. Then he replaced both his mask and the crib's siding. Acting as if nothing had happened, he promptly turned off the light and left the room.


	25. Sweet Dreams

Throughout all of July, Slade had really pushed Robin's maturity. He had allowed one last day of babying to occur before it was time to make Robin a big boy once more. That night after Robin had gone to bed, Slade had gone into the nursery and collected all of Robin's infant toys: blocks, teething rings, the walker, his stuffed animals, his pacifiers, and everything else that was appropriate for a child below the age of five. He did, however, allow his baby to keep his blanky and favored teddy bear. Except for his night time diapers, which were still required due to Robin's seemingly incurable bedwetting (for now), all diapers were confiscated as well, leaving the boy with two options. Pull-ups or big boy underwear.

Robin had thrown an absolute fit when he found out and had gone absolutely ballistic in the lair, damaging as least a thousand dollars of equipment, probably more. This had earned him a rather agonizing spanking with a paddle and an hour of corner time. Despite this, his rebellion did not end there. He still refused to go in a training potty, which had turned into a nightmare the first time he messed his pull-up. After that disgusting and somewhat traumatic experience, Robin had reluctantly given into using the stupid bowl. As for his pacifiers, Robin always seemed to be able to get his hands on one despite how many times he had taken them away. Slade was fairly convinced that the boy had a large stash hidden somewhere. In the end, he simply gave up and allowed Robin to keep his pacifiers.

Slade had also worked on expanding Robin's vocabulary to its original glory. If Robin tried to use baby words with anybody, he was ignored, or reminded to talk like a big boy. This distressed Robin to no extent, not understanding what was going on. Thankfully, his warm bottles didn't go away, since Slade felt knew how important they were to Robin. Bath time didn't go anywhere either, but Slade was gradually having Robin wash little parts of himself on his own.

It was August now. Robin was no longer crawling for the most part and his vocabulary had greatly improved. He could dress himself, but insisted that Slade be present. His potty training had gone rather well and Slade had finally taken the lock off of the toilet in the nursery's bathroom. Robin and everyone else was grateful for that when it came to bowel movements, but Robin preferred the potty for peeing rather than the toilet. Slade had not yet explained to him that he needed to stand up when he peed and plus, he couldn't watch TV while peeing in the nursery. Crying and tantrums for the most part, were a thing of the past now, and the idea of being a big boy was slowly rubbing off on him. Whenever Red attempted to feed him, Robin would declare himself "a big boy" and eat by himself. At the table of course, seeing as how his high chair was not for big boys either.

The one thing that definitely hadn't changed was Robin's view of Slade. Slade was his everything now and he adored the man with every ounce of his person. He needed him. No ifs ands or buts.

It was mid-August. Slade had put Robin to bed about two hours ago, his bed time gradually being moved from seven forty five to nine o'clock over the summer. After putting him in his night diaper, sleeper, and feeding him his bottle, Slade had easily put Robin to bed. He kept the side of the crib down, in an attempt to help the boy grow accustomed to a bed with no sides.

Slade himself was rather weary as he slipped into bed, his door locked and bolted of course. Pulling the covers up, he had just fallen asleep when he heard a timid knock at his door. The mercenary stiffened and swiftly put his mask on before grabbing the gun out of the bottom drawer of his table side dresser. He cocked it and slowly got up, keeping it aimed at the door.

"Slade!"

Slade's eyes widened in surprise and he chuckled to himself, slowly putting his gun away. He opened the door after a few moments to see Robin standing there with wide, tear filled eyes. He was trembling as if he'd been doused in ice water and his bear was wrapped tightly in his arms. A binky bobbed up and down in his mouth urgently and even in the dark, Slade could tell that Robin was overdue for a diaper change.

"I had a bad dream." Robin whimpered and nervously looked around the dark hallway, so unlike his nursery which was a constant glow of nightlights.

Without a word, Slade scooped the frightened boy up into his arms and carried him back to his nursery, laying him down on the changing table. "What made it so scary, Robin?" He asked calmly as he got to work unsnapping his little bird's sleeper and grabbing a fresh diaper.

"I had a dream that we were fighting." Robin frowned. "But we couldn't see each other's faces and we were both really, really mad and then we hit each other." He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. "But hitting is a no-no!"

Slade looked up at him in interest and chuckled. "It's only a no-no when you do it to somebody you like or somebody who is on your side. But you're right, hitting each other is a big no-no, Robin."

New tears replaced the old. "I won't ever hurt you! I pinky promise!" Robin declared as his bottom was lifted for a new diaper and then coated with baby powder.

"Thank you, Robin." Was all Slade said as he taped up the clean diaper. It amused and intrigued him that Robin was possibly having dreams of old memories, locked somewhere in his subconscious. He'd have to tell the others tomorrow. For now, however, he was tired and ready to return to his bed. Slade picked his little boy up off of the table and started carrying Robin back to his bed, only to receive a cry of protest.

"I don't wanna sleep by myself." Robin frowned.

Slade stared at the boy, his eyes large and pleading. "Fine." He nodded and carried the boy all the way back to his own bedroom, setting him in bed before getting in as well. He made sure Robin had his bear and his pacifier in his mouth before pulling the covers up and turning out the light. Only then, in the pitch black of the room did he remove his mask.

"It's dark!" Robin cried out in fear, and two strong arms wrapped themselves around his body, pulling him close.

"Don't worry, Robin. I'm right here. Nothing would ever dare to try and hurt you while I'm around." Slade promised.

Robin burrowed into his chest and gripped the fabric of Slade's wife beater in his small fists, but with Slade holding him so securely, he eventually relaxed and the two drifted off to sleep.


	26. Nicknames

Today was the day. All of Robin's training had come down to this one day that would determine the next ten months. If he failed, all was lost and Slade's plans would be all for nothing. Yes, today was the first day of Robin wearing big boy pants.

Slade entered the nursery at eight thirty and lifted his sleepy little boy out of the crib. "Good morning, Robin." He said as the raven rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Do you know what today is?"

Robin nodded quickly and waited for his diaper to be removed. Once he had been thoroughly cleaned with baby wipes, he was set on the floor. Robin didn't even mind being butt naked as he made his way over to the dresser and opened it up to find a colorful spread of training briefs had replaced the cloth diapers and plastic pants that had used to reside there. They were briefs decorated with varying infantile designs that Robin seemed to approve of. They were also a little thicker in case of leaks on the way to the bathroom. With a large smile on his face, Robin selected a green pair with turtles on them, proudly presenting them to Slade.

"Very nice, Robin. Put them on so that you can get dressed." Slade instructed. While the boy tugged up his undies, the mercenary made his way to Robin's dresser to pick out an outfit. He had also begun to introduce a noticeable amount of black and orange into the boy's wardrobe. It was never too early to start. Wanting to keep it simple, however, Slade decided on some elastic waist shorts that hardly reached past Robin's upper thighs and a loose orange tee made of light cotton. It was getting increasingly hot outside and it was quite irritating, even with the air conditioning.

"Do you want to show me how you dress yourself?" Slade asked him and the boy nodded proudly, taking the clothes and pulling them on with only a small struggle. Once Slade had checked him over to make sure everything was being worn the way it should be, he took Robin's hand and they walked to the breakfast table together. Robin hurried over and clambered onto his seat, looking over at Slade.

"Can I have Lucky Charms?" He asked hopefully. Slade sighed but when the boy started to whine, he gave in. He grabbed the sugary artificial crap and poured some into a bowl for Robin before reaching for the milk. "Wait!" Slade looked up.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Robin slipped off of his chair and came over. "I wanna pour it."

At that, Slade shook his head. "Absolutely not. You will make a huge mess and I'll have to clean it up."

"I won't. I promise!" The little raven pleaded. "I can do it!"

"Robin, no is no." Slade replied firmly.

"I'm a big boy! I won't spill it!" Robin insisted.

"Robin, do not defy me." Slade warned.

"Daddy!"

Suddenly the room went quiet and Slade stared down at Robin in surprise, who appeared to be just if not more shocked by the word that had escaped his mouth and was now settling around them in a thick silence. His eyes were wide and he was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"I'm back!" Red announced as he entered the lair. When he saw the two of them standing there in silence, he immediately knew something was off and walked over. "What's with all of the tension?" He asked.

Slade turned to him and set the bowl of cereal onto the table before dropping the milk jug into Red's arms. "Pour the milk for him." He ordered. Then without looking at Robin, he left the room.

To Red's confusion, Robin seemed just as upset by whatever had happened in his absence and he silently sat at the table, sadly twirling his cereal around in his bowl. Soon enough the marshmallow had dissolved in the milk and the cereal was soggy and unappetizing. After only eating a few spoonful's of his breakfast, he slid off of his chair and slumped over to his training potty by Slade's throne. By now, he didn't even care if somebody was watching and dropped his shorts and training pants. He sat himself down on the potty and studied the little toy bird between his legs as he relaxed. Liquid hit plastic and Red glanced over, turning back to the TV. He'd take care of it once Robin was done.

Robin picked himself up off the potty and tugged his training pants and shorts back up before trudging into the nursery. He wasn't really supposed to leave a room without permission, but still… Robin plopped onto his bottom and grabbed a look n' find before crawling over to his crib and grabbing his pacifier from under the pillow. He popped it in his mouth and continued his journey over to Slade's rocking chair. Clambering into it, he opened up the book and tried to focus, but his mind was on Slade. Was he mad? Would Slade leave him now? Not want him anymore? He wasn't sure he could handle that.

Robin ended up dozing off in the rocker. Somebody must have found him there because when he woke up, he found himself peering out from behind the wooden bars of his crib. He was back in his diapers and he had been dressed in a light blue onesie. Yawning around his pacifier, he clumsily got to his knees and rested his hands on the bar of the crib. He looked around and immediately spotted Slade in the rocking chair. With him there, Robin cowered back, this morning's breakfast scene flooding back into his mind. Was he going to get spanked? Or worse, taken back to the Titans?

Slade didn't do either of those things. He walked over and picked him up out of his bed. Without even checking to see if Robin had wet during his nap, he carried the whimpering little boy into the bathroom, right in front of the mirror. Robin immediately rolled onto his hands and knees, crawling over to Slade with a pleading whine. The man said nothing. He simply picked him up once more and set him on his thickly padded bottom in front of the mirror. This time he left the bathroom, closing the door before Robin could crawl after him.

Robin's lip wobbled and he started to cry just loud enough so that Slade could hear him but not loud enough to be obnoxious. He lied down on his back and bawled Slade's name over and over. When that didn't work, he crawled over to the door and tried the knob. It was locked. Come on, Robin. He had escaped countless traps before and now he couldn't figure out how to escape a standard bathroom. Obviously not. He needed Slade to come get him. Slade took care of everything. He was about to try screaming when he could his reflection and crawled over. He had lost his pacifier somewhere on the floor or in his crib. His hair was messed up and his face was red and tight with drying tears. Then he took notice of the onesie he was wearing. He hadn't notice before, but it wasn't plain like the other ones he wore. This one had words on it. He peered into the mirror to try and read the backwards font but even that was difficult so he pulled the fabric away from his body and studied the words.

Daddy's Little Boy

The words struck Robin's mind like a firework. Daddy. That's the name. The name. A small, hesitant smile touched Robin's lips and he found himself crawling back over to the door and knocking on it. "Daddy!" He called out with a grin on his face. As expected, the door opened and Robin immediately attached himself to Slade's leg. "Daddy!" He liked that name.

Slade picked him up and patted his bottom. "Now we both have nicknames, I suppose." He replied. That was all he said on the matter and then it was back to business, despite the exponential amount of cuddles that Robin was giving him. Robin still needed his diaper changed.


	27. Show

"Please!"

"Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"You're not old enough."

"But Red's gonna watch!"

"Red's an adult, so it's okay."

"But I'm a big boy! You said so!" Robin cried tearfully.

Slade sighed. "Being a big boy doesn't mean you can watch mature movies, Robin."

Robin stomped his foot. "It's not fair! Red and Gizmo and Jinx and Mammoth and Kyd and Seemore all get to watch but I don't!"

"You're still too little, Robin." Slade replied. "You'll get scared and then I'll have to deal with you staying up all night."

"I won't get scared. I pinky promise." Robin whimpered.

Slade glowered at Red. "Why can't you watch this at their place?"

"Their whole system is messed up and they rented it for one night only." Red shrugged.

"And what am I supposed to do with Robin?" Slade questioned. "Do you see what you've done?"

"Just put him to bed early or something." The thief suggested.

"No! I wanna watch!" Robin wailed. "It's not fair!"

"Robin, that movie is rated R. Even at your real age you'd still be too young to watch." Slade replied.

"Daddy!" Robin whined, dropping to the floor. "Please! I'm a big boy!"

"Any kid that still needs a training potty in the middle of a room that isn't a bathroom is not big enough to watch this movie." Red told him.

"The answer is no Robin." Slade said sternly.

"That's not fair!" Robin shrieked before breaking down into a fit of sobs.

"I could always give you a spanking before I put you to bed. Would that be any better?" Slade asked warningly.

Robin lifted his head and shook his head quickly as tears raced down his cheeks. He picked himself up and stormed out of the room and into the nursery to continue his session of despair.

Hearing the muffled bawling, Slade turned and scowled at Red. "Thanks."

"What did I do?" Red asked.

"You just had to invite those hooligans over for a movie that Robin is now crying over because he can't watch. Thanks to you, he will be cranky for the rest of the day." Slade snapped.

"He's not the only one." Red muttered. "Look, just tell him that he can watch it. We'll pop in a Disney movie and once it's over, he'll go to bed and we can watch our slasher flick. He'll never know."

Slade was quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Fine, but if this doesn't work, you're staying up with him all night." He stood and walked down the hall to the nursery where he found Robin face down in his crib while he cried into his pillows. "Robin."

"No!" Robin responded immediately.

Slade sighed and walked over, picking up his little boy who wriggled around in his arms. "Robin, look at me. I won't tell you until you calm down."

Tell him? Tell him what? Curiosity won over pouting and Robin stopped his fighting, wiping his eyes as Slade held him securely in his arms.

"You may watch the movie with the others, but only if you're very good for the rest of the day and do as I tell you to. " Slade explained to him. "Do we have a deal?"

Robin's face lit up and beamed, nodding quickly. "Yes! Thank you, Daddy, thank you!" He happily tapped on the side of Slade's mask. The man eyed the door to make sure nobody was coming before quickly lifting his mask up so that Robin could press a kiss to his cheek. He replaced it and cleaned up Robin's face before returning to the lair with him. Setting him down, he gave Robin a soft pat on the back. "Go play." While the boy ran off to his toys, the two older men made eye contact and Red nodded understandingly.

Robin was on his best behavior all day. He picked up his toys and used his potty and even ate his entire lunch by himself. At seven, Slade gathered Robin up into his arms and gave him a bath. Knowing a diaper would be easier to manage during the move, Slade diapered him up and snapped him in one of his cotton sleepers, slipping a pacifier into his mouth and his teddy into his arms.

"There. I'd say you're ready for a big boy movie." Slade stated. Robin beamed excitedly and his face practically glowed as he was taken into the main lair. Couches had been pushed around Slade's monitor and a large pizza sat on a table surrounded by junk food. Robin fidgeted excitedly until Slade finally set him down and he took off toddling over to the couches.

Jinx sighed in annoyance. "Tell me again why we have to watch a Disney movie with Robin?"

"Because if we don't, then Slade won't let us use the monitor." Red hissed back. "Just let the kid enjoy himself." The girl huffed and walked over to the table, grabbing pizza for herself.

Robin happily clambered onto the couch while Slade brought him two slices of pizza and a sippy cup of juice. He got up to leave, but Robin grabbed onto him and whined. "Daddy stay."

Ignoring the snickers from the younger villains, Slade sighed and took a seat in his throne. He could at least get some work done if he was going to be stuck here. The movie started and nobody really paid any attention to Robin. Or the movie for that matter. They were muttering to each other and scarfing down food for the most part.

CRASH!

Every head turned to find Robin sitting in the center of a candy sea, the upturned bowl in his lap. The boy didn't seem to care that he had knocked a bowl full of candy clean off of the table. He was more than content to just stuff his face with chocolate and gummies.

"Slade!" Red scowled. "Do something about your baby."

The mercenary looked up and sighed. "Robin, come here." He got up and scooped the boy into his arms, carrying him to the throne and sitting the boy down on his lap. He grabbed a napkin and wiped Robin's face clean. "Sit here and watch the movie." He instructed.

Robin was a good boy for a while longer, but two thirds of the way through Pocahantas, a horrible stench invaded everyone's senses, making them grimace and gag. Robin bit his lip guiltily and squirmed around in his seat, gaining Slade's attention almost immediately. "Robin, why didn't you use the potty?" Slade scolded lightly as he picked him up and carried him from the room.

Robin immediately let out a whine and struggled in his arms. "We're missing it!"

Slade sighed. "Pause it." He told the others.

"Man, when is baby going to bed?" Gizmo scowled.

"Seriously. This is so lame." Seemore frowned.

"It was either this or no entertainment system." Red replied.

"Robin has become annoying in a whole new way." Jinx said bitterly.

"Just chill out. There's like, twenty or thirty minutes left. Then Robin goes to bed and we can watch Texas Chainsaw." Red promised.

Robin came waddling back out with his hand tightly laced in Slade's. Slade, being the clever man that he was, had brought along a blanket and a bottle of warm milk and once Robin was sitting in his lap once more, he started to feed him. He lasted fifteen more minutes.

The rest of the group sighed in relief when they saw Slade pick Robin up and carry him back to the nursery, tucking him into his crib before turning on a nightlight and leaving.

"Is he really asleep?" Gizmo asked impatiently. "Can we watch our movie now?"

"Keep the volume low." Slade told them sternly. "I don't want Robin waking up."

"Sure thing, boss." Red nodded.

Robin opened his eyes. His room was empty and dark, other than the light glowing dimly in the corner. He could faintly hear the screams of people and sound of revving motors and it sparked his curiosity. He clambered out of his crib and hugged his bear tightly as he padded out into the hallway. It was dark except for a single light from the TV screen that flickered in the room. He hurried down the hall to see what was going on, his eyes widening in surprise. Images of blood and gore flooded his brain and the screams of terrified people filtered into his ears. He stood frozen in horror and began to whimper.

"Mm, ng, Daddy!" Robin cried out, curling into a ball on the floor and hiding his face in his bear. Suddenly, those few images were being replaced by more. Scenes of mutilated, dismembered bodies invaded his imagination and shouts of panic echoed in his skull. Scarecrow. Joker. Batman.

Strong arms quickly picked him up and carried him out of the room. He kept his face buried, refusing to look at anything despite Slade's gently voice coaxing him. "Batman!" He sobbed.

Slade looked at him in surprise. "Shhhh, Robin, you're all right." He murmured through the desperate pleas for Batman. He sighed and glanced over at the door to make sure that it was locked. "Robin, look at me." He ordered, gently lifting the boy's head.

Still crying, Robin pushed him away and backed up, his shoulders shuddering and Slade saw something in Robin's eyes that he hadn't seen in months: fear and distrust. That was it, he knew he had to do it. For Robin's sake. Slowly, he reached up and removed his mask.


	28. Elmo For Breakfast

There was skin: pale, but rough and weathered from hours spent in the sun. Little nicks and scars marring his face though not ancient, experienced and tight.

There were lips: thin and whitened, muddy pink. They covered perfectly straight, impeccably white teeth.

There was hair: scruffy and grayed with hints of something that may have once passed as black and tints of pure white in other areas. A short, shaved beard sprouted out from under his lip, making him seem wise and adventurous.

There were eyes: One gray that had clearly seen a lot in its lifetime, the other covered by a black eye patch. That one had seen a bit less recently.

There was a nose: long and slender, but slightly crooked as it had probably been broken a few times.

Robin didn't say anything. He trembled, tears halting for a moment in his eyes; they waited and watched, curious to see what might happen next. Casually and calmly, as to not frighten his shaking little Bambi, Slade removed his gloves. He raised a hand up to Robin's face and gently cradled his delicate jaw. The bird flinched and he shushed him, wiping away some tears with his thumb.

"Calm down, Robin. You're alright. The movie just startled you. That's all." He was almost cooing to the boy who quivered like a Chihuahua. His eyes darted frantically around his face, skittering from feature to feature as if he had never before seen a human face.

"D-D….Sla…." He stuttered, his mind imploding. Memories and emotions splattered against the interior walls of his skull. It was a mess. He hesitantly brought a hand up as if he might get bit and ran his small fingertips over the skin. It was real. It was warm.

"Daddy's still here, Robin." Slade told him. "He's always under that mask. Don't be afraid of the orange and black." Robin stared at him with wide eyes and this time, Slade didn't bother with patience. He seized the boy and swiftly tugged him to his chest. The young hero squirmed uncertainly for a few minutes before burrowing himself into the man, but even that was not enough. The Kevlar suit kept any warmth from reaching him and Robin much preferred to cuddle a human, not a suit. Whining unhappily, Slade glanced down at him. "But of course." He stated. Releasing Robin, he moved his mask onto the bedside table and stripped to his boxers. Then he tugged on some pajama pants and slipped into bed, tugging Robin under the covers with him and cradling him in his arms once more.

"You're becoming quite the delicate handful, baby bird." Slade murmured into his ear.

* * *

"Get up!"

"Hmm?" Seemore murmured. He squeezed his eyes shut even more as he was wacked in the head with a pillow a few times. "What's the matter?"

"Slade is going to flip his shit if he finds you all still here! You guys need to leave!" Red said frantically. The others groggily opened their eyes to find the thief rushing around the room, shoving paper cups into the trash can and wiping up spills.

"Calm down, snot brain. What's the big rush?" Gizmo shrugged. "We've been over here tons of times."

"Yes, but it's Saturday!" Red snapped back.

"Pfft, so?" Jinx yawned, placing her hands on her hips.

"So?  _So?_ " Red asked angrily. "Sesame Street comes on in ten minutes and if this mess isn't cleaned up by the time Robin is done getting dressed, there will be hell to pay."

Before the others could respond, he fled the room and returned in seconds with a broom, racing to sweep the crumb-covered floor. He stopped and looked at the others expectantly. "Well?"

Rolling their eyes, the others yanked themselves up from the couch and sluggishly moved around, dropping empty soda cans into the trash and snacking on leftover junk food. The place was still a disaster area when Robin came bounding cheerfully out of the hallway in his teeny blue shorts that were partially covered by a white and black t-shirt.

"Sesame Street! Sesame Street!" He sang excitedly as he swung his bear around. He scurried over to the TV and took a seat on the closed potty. His pacifier, attached to his shirt by a pin and a ribbon, was pushed into his mouth. "Turn it on! Elmo!" His legs bounced excitedly.

"Uh, yeah, about that…" Red said nervously. "Sesame street might be a little late this morning. We kinda screwed up the satellite last night and we didn't get around to fixing it yet."

Robin's face stayed sweetly content, but his mouth twitched ever so slightly around his pacifier. "Elmo." He repeated.

"I'm sorry, but there's no Elmo today." Red shrugged.

An agitated, borderline dangerous look plastered over Robin's cheerful expression and he let the pacifier fall from his mouth. "Elmo." He repeated firmly.

"We don't have Elmo." Red frowned, his eyes widening as Robin began to take in a deep breath. "Robin please don't-

"DADDY!" Robin screamed

Red cringed and the others stared at him in confusion.

"What's the big deal?" Mammoth shrugged.

"Yeah, it's just a stupid show." Jinx shrugged.

The thief tensed as the sound of Slade's footsteps echoed in the hallway. The man appeared in full armor and he turned to look at Robin, who was getting more and more flustered. "Robin? What's wrong?"

"Red says no Sesame Street!" Robin cried in distress. "I want Elmo."

Slade lifted his gaze to Red, who was shifting nervously. "Turn on the show."

"Yeah…um, you see, the satellite isn't actually connected." Red mumbled.

"Then connect it." Slade said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"It's gonna take about twenty minutes for the server to load." Gizmo said, inspecting the cables.

Slade sighed. "I'm sorry Robin, no Elmo this morning."

Robin's eyes filled with tears, appalled that Slade couldn't solve things for once. He got up and stomped his foot. "Yes, Elmo!"

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow." Slade told him.

Squeezing his eyes shut, the raven shook his head violently and balled his hands into fists. "I wan'Elmo!"

"I said no Elmo, Robin." Slade said sternly.

"Yes Elmo!" Robin yelled back. Tears quickly slipped down his beet red face.

"What's going on?" Jinx asked, surprised by Robin's sudden breakdown.

"I told you there would be hell to pay." Red huffed. "If I were you, I'd back away and get all of your possessions off of the floor."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Seemore asked.

"Robin. Do not talk back to me." Slade scolded. "No Elmo means no Elmo. End of discussion."

Robin glared up at him lividly, his red face looking ready to burst. "No!" He screamed angrily. "No Elmo means no potty!"

"Robin, don't you even think about it." Slade warned him in a dangerously calm voice.

Robin scowled back at him, his eyes dangerous slits as a large puddle of urine swiftly pooled and expanded at his feet. "No Elmo, no potty." He repeated daringly.

Slade's single eye twitched angrily but he didn't say a word. Scooping Robin up by his armpits, he promptly carried him over to the nearest corner and dropped him. "Face the wall." He snapped sharply. "If you move, you can expect a long, painful spanking before breakfast." With that, he walked over to the younger criminals, who were staring at the puddle in surprise. "Red, seeing as this whole thing is your fault, you can clean that up." He stated before going into the kitchen to start breakfast. It had only been ten minutes when Robin started to squirm. The whining came next, and finally, Robin flopped onto his back and looked over at Slade.

"What is it, Robin?" Slade asked without looking up from what he was doing.

"I'm itchy." Robin whined.

"That's what happens when you make pee pees in your pants and not in the potty." The mercenary replied with a shrug.

"Daddy!" The boy whimpered, fidgeting on the floor. "It's hurty!"

"Whose fault is that?"

Robin's eyes filled with fresh tears and he began to bawl once more. "Dadddyyyyyyyyy!"

Slade sighed again. "Are you going to use the potty like a big boy?" Silence. "Robin?"

"Yes." Came the mumbled reply.

Slade walked over and took his hand, leading him out of the room and towards the nursery. He cleaned the boy up, but just to be safe, put him in a pull-up. He dressed him in a diaper shirt and some plaid shorts, sending him back to the living room while he followed close behind. While Robin pouted on the couch, Slade turned back to the pancake batter and grabbed a ladle to pour it onto the skillet. He paused and glanced over at the pantry. Setting the spoon down, he sorted through the bottles and spices until he found what he was looking for and returned to the stove.

Once breakfast was ready, Slade called him over. Robin slipped into his seat and stared down at his plate. He let out a gasp and kicked his legs excitedly. "Elmo!"

Slade nodded and hummed in agreement, flipping more pancakes on the stove. He heard Red come over and whistle. "Pretty cool. How'd you get the batter to be red?"

Slade shrugged in reply. "Put the whipped cream back in the fridge and the chocolate chips in the pantry before Robin eats them all."

"Yeah, okay." Red said, tossing the chips onto the top shelf. "You bend over backwards for this kid."

Slade didn't reply, just hummed.

 


	29. Dr. Ice Cream and Mr. Hive

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no." Robin whimpered as he was dragged down the hallway by the hand. He turned and tried to tug the opposite way, but Slade's grip wouldn't let up at all. He whined in despair and went limp, finally succeeding in making Slade stop.

"Enough, Robin. In order to attend this school you need to have medical papers and the only way to get those is by going to a doctor." Slade said firmly.

"No, no, no." Robin mewled some more. His dead weight body was being dragged on the smooth linoleum floors, his Velcro shoes providing little to no friction.

"Do not make me carry you." Slade warned. "You're a big boy. You know how to walk."

"No doctor." The boy pleaded.

"Yes, doctor. You need a check-up and going to the doctor here is better than finding one in the public." Slade told him.

The halls were completely empty, awaiting the arrival of the first day of school in a couple of weeks; they were awaiting the arrival of their newest student. Slade had already packed his old apprentice uniforms and everything he would need for school, including his night diapers and some pull-ups in case Robin had any bad days. After several tear-filled arguments, he also allowed Robin to pack his never-ending stock of pacifiers, his bear, and his blanky all under the condition that they remain in the dorm room at all times. Despite Robin agreeing whole heartedly, he had asked the Hive boys to make sure that he lived up to his promise, especially when it came to binkies.

"No, no, no…" Robin kept whimpering. Tears streamed out of his eyes. He dropped to his knees and Slade sighed impatiently.

"That's it. You had your chance." Slade sighed. In one quick swoop, he grabbed the little teenager and slung him over his shoulder, ignoring the whines of protest and kicking squirms that resulted from it. He walked him straight to the infirmary and dropped him down into one of the waiting chairs while he went to talk to the head doctor. Robin curled up into a ball and wiped his eyes as he pouted angrily at the mercenary. He fiddled quietly with the Velcro on his shoes while Slade exchanged a few words and then suddenly, his name was being called. He obediently stood and scooted over to Slade, shyly taking his hand and burrowing his face into the man's side.

"It's time for your physical." Slade stated. He led Robin into a private room with the doctor close behind. He shut the door while Slade hoisted the boy onto the examination table and started to remove his shoes while the doctor watched in silent curiosity. Slade removed his shoes and socks, then his jacket. It wasn't until he began tugging at his shirt that Robin shook his head and pushed his hands away.

"No nakies." Robin insisted, looking shyly at the doctor.

"The doctor needs to make sure you're healthy. You can trust him because I say so." Slade stated.

Robin bit his lip unsurely. He was a stranger, but if Daddy said he was okay…

Slade finished undressing him down to the Pampers that he had been put in for the long trip. The doctor immediately raised his eyebrows in question but with one challenging look from Slade's single eye, he chose to keep his mouth shut.

"Do everything the doctor asks of you or you can expect a spanking when we get home." Slade whispered into the boy's ear. Robin looked at him, his big blue eyes widened in alarm and nodded obediently.

Slade took a seat and kept a close eye on Robin, making sure he did everything that the doctor asked of him. There wasn't a single problem until the doctor had Robin stand up and face the wall. When he gripped the teen's shoulder without any warning, Robin seized his arm and twisted around, tucking his foot against the man's stomach and shoving him against the opposite wall.

Robin stood there in shocked horror as the doctor groaned in pain. He hadn't meant for it to happen, he was just startled and it was just…reflex. Frightened tears welled up in his eyes and he quickly backed away from Slade. He was going to get spanked now.

"Come here, sweetheart." Slade called gently. "You're not in trouble."

Robin burst into tears and shook his head, cowering into the corner. "I'm sorry." He sobbed, squeezing his eyes shut. He struggled wildly as Slade picked him up into his arms and began to bounce him a little.

"Shhh…Robin." He whispered. "I understand that it was just an accident. You aren't getting spanks."

Robin looked up at him tearfully. "I don't want spanks."

"You won't get them. You aren't in trouble, I promise, baby." Slade said softly, not wanting the doctor to overhear. He turned his back to the man and patted the puffy seat of Robin's diaper. "Are you ready to finish up?"

Robin bit his lip unsurely and it wobbled beneath the confines of his teeth. He hesitantly shook his head. "All done." He stated almost in a pleading tone.

"Just finish up and we'll get ice cream." Slade sighed. When he got no response, he bounced the boy in his arms a little. "Okay?"

Robin silently nodded and once he was placed back on the floor, the doctor, having recovered, quickly finished his exam. Once it was over, Slade wasn't sure who was more relieved: the doctor or Robin. He left the two alone so that Robin could get dressed and in less than five minutes, they were gone.

"Do you need to go potty before we leave?" Slade asked him once they were completely alone in the hallway. At Robin's quick nod, he changed directions and made a beeline for the nearest restroom. "Peepees?"

"Poopy." Robin replied and Slade began to pick up his speed. He pushed through the door and selected a stall, setting Robin down in front of him.

"Do you need help?" Slade asked him as the boy tugged his pants down. Robin glanced up and presented the front of his diaper to the man. He bent down and untaped the baby garment, taking it away completely and hoisting him onto the toilet. "Tell me when you're done."

Robin nodded obediently and kicked his legs as he sat, waiting for nature to take its course. Five, six, seven minutes passed and finally Robin announced that he was done. Once he had cleaned himself up Slade assisted in retaping the diaper. Hands were washed and then Robin was picked up once more.

Red was draped over the throne when Robin and Slade returned to the lair. He immediately straightened up and tossed aside the "gentleman's magazine" that he had snagged earlier from a convenience store. Robin, who was giggling and squirming restlessly in Slade's arms waved to him with sticky hands that were stained with the same chocolate that encircled his mouth. Slade sat him on the counter beside the sink and grabbed the washcloth.

"Hold still." Slade ordered as he scrubbed him clean. Robin wiggled around impatiently and the second he was released, he took off toddling around the lair.

"I've got some calls to make, keep an eye on Robin." Slade ordered the thief.

"Sure thing, boss." Red smirked, getting up to go find something to eat. Meanwhile, Robin had come across a picture book he had never seen before.

 


	30. Birds and Bees

Slade entered the lair an hour or so later and was not too thrilled to find Red draped across his throne fast asleep. Without a second thought, the redhead was woken unceremoniously with a rough yank to his cape that had him slipping from his seat. He cried out in surprise and clambered to his feet.

"Slade!"

"What do you think you're doing?" Slade snapped angrily. "I ordered you to watch Robin and you're sleeping? He could be hurt!"

"Hey, hey, chill. He's probably playing with his dolls or something." Red replied quickly, holding his hands up in defense.

"Well, where is he?" Slade snarled.

Red looked around and his eyes widened when he realized that the room was empty of anyone but him and the masked mercenary. "I swear he was just here. He probably just had to go potty or something."

Slade sighed in disgust at his employee's incompetence and turned, rushing to the nursery. He quickly burst in and relaxed a little bit when he found the boy sitting on the carpet with his back turned. Something that had Robin hunched over and silent caught his attention and the criminal walked over. "Robin?"

Hearing his name, Robin's head whipped around and he smiled. "Daddy!"

"What are you doing in here, baby?" Slade asked as he kneeled beside the boy.

"I'm reading a funny book." Robin replied easily, glancing at the object and turning a page.

"Funny, huh? Can you show me?" Slade inquired, his lips twitching up into a smile beneath his mask.

The raven nodded and picked it up, presenting the cover to Slade.

"RED!"

"What now?" Red murmured, letting out a yelp of surprise when Slade tackled him against the wall.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" Slade growled, his single eye burning furiously into his soul.

"What? What'd I do?" He gasped, a little frightened by the raw anger that was emanating off of the man.

"What did you do?" Slade hissed. "WHAT'D YOU DO?"

Red flinched and squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You left your disgusting magazine on the floor for Robin to find, that's what!" Slade hollered, slamming the magazine against the wall next to Red's head. "Robin has been staring at cunts for an hour!"

"What?" Red gaped. "I…Slade, I had no idea, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry for what? Destroying the innocence that I've spent months creating? Thanks to you Robin is asking me what that thing between the lady's legs is!"

"What? You mean he doesn't know?" Red asked, a small grin breaking out onto his face. "But he's fifteen."

"Just shut up. You better find a way to fix this or I can guarantee that the next time I see you, it'll be in a morgue." Slade growled lowly before turning away and storming out of the room.

"Robin?" Red peeked into the nursery and found Robin playing with his blocks and toy cars. He sniffed the air and followed the scent of char over to the waste basket where the offending porno had been burnt into a smoking black crisp with a few scattered embers still glowing brightly. Slade must have set it aflame, though he wouldn't be surprised if he had done it purely from the power of his anger.

"Hey, baby, Slade said you had a question?" Red inquired, awkwardly kneeling down beside the boy.

"Daddy won't tell me what the thingy on the girls is." Robin frowned.

Red started by clearing his throat several times. "Okay, ummm…" He searched his mind for any possible excuses and looked at him. "Candy." He blurted.

"What?" Robin frowned in confusion.

"Silly, that's where girls keep their candy." Red smiled uncomfortably. "Yeah…because girls wear dresses so there aren't any pockets to keep their candy in. All girls have a special pocket inside them where they keep their candy and if they really like you, they'll give you some." He nodded. "That works."

Robin's eyes widened in amazement, unable to believe that after all this time, every single girl in the world had been walking around with a secret candy dispenser. Beaming, he got up and toddled out of the room.

The next time the Hive 5 came to visit, Jinx knew something was off the second she entered the lair. Robin was seated on the floor, staring intently at the doorway they walked through. Once she was in his sights, he got up and hurried over, giving her a hug.

"The heck? Get off of me!" Jinx ordered, shoving him away.

Robin's eyes widened and his lip wobbled as tears began to well up. "What? Y-you don't like me?" His already childish voice cracked and Slade turned to look at them warningly from his place at the computers.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Jinx sighed in irritation.

Robin's eyes seemed to vibrate, giant blue pools gleaming brighter than humanly possible. "Really like me?"

"Yeah, yeah." Jinx rolled her eyes. They widened in astonishment when Robin wrapped her in another hug. "Hey!"

"Jinx has a boyfriend!" Gizmo sang, cackling as he hopped onto the couch.

"Candy!" Robin beamed, reaching under her skirt.

"Robin!" Jinx snapped, hitting him with a pink wave. The boy fell back and whimpered, which quickly escalated into full on bawling.

"What now?" Slade sighed, going over to pick up his little boy. "Robin, what has you so upset?"

"Jinx said she likes me, but she still won't give me her candy! Red said she'd give it!" He sobbed, tears streaming down his tomato red face.

"What? I don't have any candy. RED!" Jinx screeched.

"What?" The thief whined from the kitchen. "I didn't do anything this time!"

"Then would you like to explain why Robin is looking under by dress for candy?" Jinx snapped.

Red gaped at her and let out a nervous laugh. "Oh, uh, it was nothing really, just a misunderstanding…"

"That idiot let Robin get his hands on pornography." Slade said sourly. "I thought he could at least be trusted to explain the female anatomy."

"How the heck am I going to explain something like that to a kid who doesn't even understand that he can't be sucked down the bathtub drain?" Red asked defensively.

"So you told him that girls keep candy in it?" Slade snapped.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Jinx asked, her face a pinked mixture of embarrassment and rage.

"Stop attacking me! I tried!" He whined.

"Candyyyy!" Robin cut in.

"Hold on a sec, Robin, we're trying to figure this out." Red huffed. "We still don't know how to explain this to you."

"Candyyy!"

"Fine! Here!" Red sighed, grabbing a lollipop from the secret hiding place and popping it in his mouth. Robin immediately became occupied with his treat, blocking out the arguing around him.

"Let's just tell him." Slade stated. "Quick and easy."

"What? No!" Jinx frowned. "He's scared of the dark! Think about how this will scar him."

"I got it!" Red cried out. He turned to Robin. "Hey, buddy? I'm really sorry for lying to you. Girls don't keep candy in there. That is a special place that girls have so that when they grow up they can have babies and be mommies. It's nothing to be scared or upset about and if you have any questions you can always ask Slade." He smiled, ignoring the dirty look the mercenary gave him. "There's nothing to be confused or afraid of. It's just a part of life." Satisfied with his little speech, he patted Robin on the head.

Robin, who was still completely engrossed in his lollipop and looked up as if surprised that people were still paying attention to him. "What?"

 


	31. The Boss

 

 

 

After that day at the doctor's, Slade had been unable to forget about the way Robin threw the man at the wall. The technique, the reflex, it was still as beautiful as he remembered even after months of brain washing and minimal physical activity. It was silly of him, really, to think that he could break such a fighter with diapers and bottles. That sort of determination and instinct was weaved into Robin's very being since a young age. And all this time it had merely been buried under the surface. What a fool he was...

This realization opened doors. Doors that hadn't existed until Robin revealed his abilities. Perhaps his mind would have to be built up from scratch but his body certainly didn't! His body knew exactly what to do! Now if he could get Robin using these hidden techniques consciously, they would be ready to go in a matter of weeks.

And that's how one week into September he was standing in the padded training room and staring at his giggling baby boy as he tested the bounciness of each and every wall mat.

"Oh yeah, he's a fighter alright." Red smirked, watching the two from the door way.

"You've seen him fight. He's just got to get back in the habit." Slade replied. "If I can take it away, I can give it back." He turned to Robin and clapped his hands. "Robin."

The boy immediately turned and came hurrying over to Slade. He was wearing big boy pants today and some black training clothes. He sat down on front of Slade and looked up attentively.

"We're going to do something new today." Slade told him. "Do you remember what you did at the doctor's office?"

Robin's face fell into that of fear and his face threatened to crumple as he squirmed away. He nodded.

"There's no need to be afraid. Daddy liked watching you do that very much. Can you do it again?" Slade asked.

Robin shrugged, still preparing to dart towards the door at any sign of a spanking.

"Why don't we try? It's okay, Robin. You won't be in trouble. I promise." Slade told him.

Still looking a bit scared he stood up in front of Slade and stared up at him.

"Now let's start with something simple." Slade said as Red came over and drew a circle around Robin with some chalk. "I'm going to try and touch you. Your job is to avoid getting touched, but you can't leave the circle, okay?"

A bit unsurely, Robin nodded. "Like tag?"

"Yes, but with more ducking and dodging, and less running." Slade replied. He started slow, aiming for Robin's hips, shoulders, head, and feet. He was fairly successful; a bit of stumbling here and there but at least he didn't step out of the circle. Robin even seemed to enjoy it, viewing it as a game rather than fighting practice.

That is until Red decided to screw everything up.

Robin was right in the middle of dodging another swipe of Slade's hand when Red started inching towards him. With his attention completely focused on the mercenary, he didn't even register Red tiptoeing up to his back. Suddenly the thief was on top of him, wrapping his arms around the boy's torso. Robin shrieked in surprise, making Red laugh. "Gotcha!"

Robin let out a cry of alarm and brought his legs up over his head. Red's laughter was cut short when he encountered a pair of feet that smashed against his face. Astonished, Red released him. Robin hit the ground on his feet in front of him before spinning quickly, swiping him right off of his feet in a flurry of motions that had Slade chuckling as Red smacked the floor with a groan.

"Very good boy, Robin. I know somebody who's getting chocolate milk with their dinner tonight." He said, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Jesus! You'd think after months of just eating and sitting on his butt he'd lose his strength." Red winced as he eased himself up off of the floor.

Slade ignored him and took Robin's hand. "I think it's time we started reviving your hitting techniques." He decided, guiding Robin over to his custom-made punching bag. The second he saw it, Robin whimpered in fright and cowered behind Slade's back, hiding from the stuffed dummy.

"Make him go away." He whined, burying his face in Slade's back.

"Mr. Jingles won't hurt you." Slade promised, pulling Robin out from behind him. Gripping his shoulders, he forced the boy to stare into the dummy's artificial face. Robin trembled a little, refusing to meet the cold, lifeless gaze.

"Look at him." Slade ordered. "How does he make you feel?"

"I dunno…" Robin whimpered, trying to squirm out of his arms.

"Yes you do. Do you feel scared?" Slade questioned. When Robin nodded his head, he moved him closer. "I want you to hit him."

"He'll bite me." Robin said nervously.

"Not if you hit him. Nothing can hurt you as long as you fight and you win. Do you want Mr. Jingles to hurt you?" Slade asked.

"This is so messed up." Red shook his head as he watched from the sidelines.

Slade continued to ignore him and lowered his face beside Robin's ear. "Fight him and win." He said.

"How?" Robin asked unsurely, glancing up at Slade for guidance.

"I'll tell you what to do." Slade promised. He stepped back, leaving Robin to fidget nervously in front of the punching bag. He gave the boy a few moments to prepare himself before walking to the side. "I want you to punch him, Robin."

Glancing insecurely at Slade, Robin did as he was told, tapping his knuckles against the padding before springing away.

"No, no, I want you to hit him. Hurt him." Slade told him. "Harder."

Robin came at the bag again, making a fairly good smacking sound with his fist. Unfortunately, this didn't satisfy the mercenary.

"Harder, Robin."

_Smack._

"Harder."

_Smack!"_

"Harder!"

_SMACK!_

The punching bag swung away from him and back. Robin immediately turned to Slade for his approval and the mercenary nodded in satisfaction. "Good boy. Now I want you to hit that hard every time."

Robin beamed at the praise and with that boost in confidence, he turned back to the punching bag.

"Kick it, Robin…there's a good boy. Now hit it, kick it again. No…bring your food up and kick it in the fa-very good…somebody is getting extra desserts tonight."

* * *

"Where's Robin? Shouldn't he be somewhere around here giggling at the sight of his own toes?" Jinx asked as the entered the lair.

"Nah, he's training with Slade right now." Red shrugged.

It'd been two weeks now and Robin had improved at a nearly supernatural rate. The men weren't sure if Raven's old mind sessions had anything to do with his quick progression, but if Red hadn't seen the kid in action for himself, he would have claimed it to be impossible.

"So he can fight now? Does that mean we can start treating him like normal again?" Gizmo asked happily. For months he'd been forced to treat the brat with kindness all because he was "mentally vulnerable" and he didn't dare argue with Slade. But if he could fight now, then that unlocked some old doors…

"I guess." Red shrugged. "He can hold his own pretty well." He didn't mention that only a week before he'd had his ass handed to him in the nursery for taking Robin's favorite bear as a joke.

"Good, Robin! Keep going!" Slade called. Over the weeks the training had become tougher, more rigorous, and much, much more diverse. He watched Robin spring off of the first padded pedestal and hit the next one on his hands before springing to the floor. He took out one, two minions and charged forward, beheading another in a flying kick.

"That's it! Fight to win!" Slade coached as the boy took out two more armed minions. It was great. This is what he'd spent a year preparing and working towards. All of the time and energy and money…it was all worth it to see this fighting machine perform for him under his command and only his.

"STOP!"

Well, almost.

"Yes, Robin?" Slade asked.

"I have to go potty."

Slade took in Robin's squirming stance, his hand between his crotch, and the desperate look on his face and sighed, pausing the course. "Alright, go ahead."

With his permission, Robin sprinted out of the gym and into the living room, only to have his path blocked by Gizmo.

"Long time no see diaper boy." He sneered, raising himself up on his mechanical legs. Looking down at Robin's potty dance, he cackled. "Aw, what's wrong? Gotta go potty?"

Robin nodded, biting his lip. "Lemme through." He requested.

"Nah…" Gizmo shrugged.

"What?" Robin frowned in alarm. "Why?"

"Big boy like you should be able to hold it." He teased.

"But I really gotta go!" Robin whimpered. He shamelessly grabbed his crotch, tears springing to his eyes.

"Gizmo, just let him through." Jinx sighed, taking pity on the poor boy.

"Stay out of this." Gizmo replied before turning back to Robin. "Whatcha gonna do? You gonna piss your pants like the big baby you are?"

"Let me through!" Robin begged. Tears welled up in his eyes and he brought his other hand down, squeezing his thighs together.

"Why don't you make me?" Gizmo challenged, moving forward and giving Robin a shove that sent him tumbling onto the floor. Everyone turned and watched as Robin started to cry, his orange shorts darkening around the crotch. His face crumpled and tears streamed down his face at an alarming rate as bawls ripped from his throat. Beneath him a puddle formed, soaking his bottom and the hem of his shirt.

"Daddy!" Robin bawled, clinging to the back of his thighs as his bladder emptied all over the floor.

"Dammit." Red sighed, knowing he was in for it now. Slade's footsteps echoed through the hallway. Gizmo wasted no time retracting his legs and reseating himself on the couch.

Slade entered the room and took one look at Robin before snapping his head up. "Who did this?" He demanded. When he got no reply, he turned to Red, who stiffened in his chair and said "Clean this up." Then he scooped Robin into his arms and carried him back to the nursery.

"Was that necessary?" Red snapped once the two had left the room. He got down on his knees and grumbled as he began to wipe up the puddle.

"He needs to know who's boss." Gizmo grumbled.

"Congratulations, you made a boy with the mind of a toddler wet his pants." Jinx rolled her eyes. "They'll probably write songs about you."

There was a bit more scolding, but it ceased quickly once Slade returned with Robin hanging off of his hip. There was a pacifier between his lips now and his clothes had gone from orange to black. His eyes were red and watery, but the tear stains had been wiped away.

"All of you in the gym now." Slade ordered and realizing that it was too late to make an escape, they all reluctantly filed out of the lair.

Once inside the training room, Slade walked over to them. "Robin, who did this?"

Feeling a bit more fearless from his place on Slade's hip, Robin sullenly pointed at Gizmo, whose eyes widened in alarm when he sensed the others step away from him. Slade set Robin down and the tiny villain turned to run, but the mercenary got ahold of his equipment, ripping it right off.

"Alright Robin, go ahead."

Gizmo gasped and started to flee, but he only made it a few meters before his face was met with a hard foot.

* * *

 

"You sure showed him who's boss." Jinx murmured sarcastically as she dropped an icepack in his lap.

Gizmo glanced from her to Robin, who sat contently on the couch watching Blue's Clues and scowled. "Shut up."

 


	32. Unpacified

Robin was probably one of Slade's greatest accomplishments. He had taken a strong, powerful hero and broken him down into a helpless little baby before building back up into a prized fighting machine that just so happened to worship the ground Slade walked on. He had forced Robin into diapers, made him incontinent, and re-potty trained him. He had chopped his vocabulary into bits and reconstructed it. And most importantly, he had brought Robin down to all fours, then turned around and yanked him back onto his feet. In fact there was nothing he couldn't do to Robin, nothing that is…except get rid of his pacifiers.

He had them constantly: when he slept, when he bathed, when he played…in fact the only time he was forcibly not allowed to have his pacifier was during training and meals. Then, Red discovered the large stash of binkies that Robin kept hidden under the mattress in his crib and Slade decided that it was time for an intervention. Clearly, Robin did not agree.

"They're bad for your teeth." Slade said irritably. This argument had been going on for days now.

"That didn't stop you before." Robin argued back, a pacifier plugging his mouth at that very moment. He sucked hard, his cheeks hallowing as the nipple was pulled in and out, back and forth.

"You can't go to the academy with your binkies." The man replied. "All of the children will make fun of you."

"I don't care." Robin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Besides, I don't even wanna go."

"That's too bad." Slade told him firmly.

"Why can't you train me?" Robin whined.

"Because you need a proper learning environment with unbiased teachers and experience with other peers." Slade replied. "Once you've finished a year there you will return here and I will continue instruction."

Robin's eyes welled up with tears and he shook his head. "I don't wanna leave!" He cried, his face crumpling. His pacifier fell from his mouth and hit the ground, leaving a small smear of saliva on the floor. It rolled a bit on the shield before coming to rest between his bare feet.

"You have to finish maturing, Robin. You've made a lot of progress here with me, but putting you out in the real world will force to you to adapt. The changes in your behavior will evolve quicker." Slade explained. He took a seat in his throne and looked down at Robin, who had his eyes wide with desperation.

"I don't want to leave, Daddy." He whispered, his voice cracking. "I promise I'll grow up and be a big boy and I'll use the potty all the time and I won't sleep with a night light and-

Slade held his hand up. "Enough, Robin. It's already been decided."

Robin scrunched his eyes up tearfully and hiccoughed, turning and giving the nearest toy a hard kick before fleeing to the nursery. Slade listened as the door slammed shut, but it didn't muffle the boy's blubbering bawls one bit, thus making the mercenary feel like the world's biggest jerk. He sighed loudly and rested his head on his hand. Maybe he was sending Robin off too early. While his progression over the summer had been phenomenal considering the circumstances, it was only too recent.

Robin's speech had developed further and in the past week he hadn't had a single daytime accident. He was fighting like an old pro, quickly regaining muscle, agility, and stamina; his flexibility had never even left. That didn't mean there still weren't things that required fixing. Robin still required sleeping aids: his nightlight, the favored teddy, and the cherished baby blanket. He couldn't sleep in a regular bed unless someone was there to keep him from rolling out. His pacifier addiction was uncontainable, and worst of all, Robin had the horrid habit of crying every time he was upset by something. While he was aware that many children went through a crying phase, it didn't excuse Robin's actions.

Slade stood up and walked over to the abandoned pacifier. Maybe he was going too fast. Robin had only been his baby for a few months before he had started turning him back. Would it really hurt to halt progression for a little while? In Slade's opinion, Robin was at the perfect point in his development. He was self-sufficient, able to bathe, dress and eat by himself while only depending on diapers at night. His fighting skills were far from gone, and despite his power, the boy continued to worship him and love him like any other child would perceive their father. He was adorable and moldable, but at the same time, completely competent. The real question was: how long would he keep him this way?

Red walked into the room and pulled his mask off, turning towards the nursery in curiosity when he heard Robin's cries. He quirked an eyebrow and looked at Slade. "Now what is it?"

"Nothing." Slade replied. "Just the usual."

Red rolled his eyes and headed for the kitchen. "I found a second stash, by the way. It's inside that vent he tried to escape from back in February."

"That's the least of my problems at the present time." Slade replied.

Red pulled a carton of juice out of the refrigerator and unscrewed the cap. "Then what?" He took a swig.

"A cup, would be more considerate, don't you think?" Slade asked testily. "Robin has made it clear that he does not plan on attending Hive Academy this year."

"Ugh. There's always something." Red sighed. "Why couldn't you just use hypnosis or mind control or something?"

"It could ruin the psychological training that I've already accomplished with him." Slade said. "Besides, I've spent quite a bit of time making him this way and I'd like to enjoy it."

"Either way he's yours to control, what's the big deal?" Red asked, setting the milk down on the counter. "Look, you wanted the kid and you got him. You won, Slade. Whatever you do now is meaningless unless your satisfaction is met completely."

"I want Robin to become a powerful force. I want him to be stronger, quicker, and more skilled than he already is. I want a perfect apprentice. If suffering through a year of Hive is what it takes for him to achieve that status, then so be it." Slade replied.

"Okay…but you know, sending him there might actually mess up your plans a little." Red commented offhandedly. He took another swig of milk and ignored the glare Slade shot at him.

"Oh? Care to elaborate on that theory?"

The thief shrugged. "Just saying, tenth grade was the year I decided that my parents sucked. You don't think Robin will pick up the same attitude surrounded by angsty teenagers twenty four seven?"

"Robin has gone through intense conditioning. His psyche won't be swayed so easily. You saw how long it took the Raven girl to recover his old mental state." Slade affirmed.

"I dunno." Red shrugged passively. "But I know from years of attending public school that peer pressure is a dark magic all on its own."

"Stop being so dramatic." Slade scolded.

"You want me to prove it?" Red questioned. "'Cause I'll prove it. I bet I could get Robin to stop sucking pacifiers, I'll just call Jinx and the guys over and they'll bully it out of him. That'll prove how effective any kind of mental conditioning is when put up against the overwhelming desire for social acceptance."

* * *

"Robin! Come!"

Robin looked up from his blocks, staring out the nursery door from which the command had come from. Leaning over to grab his teddy through the bars of his crib, he stood up and followed the voice down the hall and into the main lair. When he got there, he was less than pleased to find the members of the HIVE 5 loitering around the kitchen area. He made eye contact with Gizmo, who sneered back at him.

"Robin."

Robin immediately stopped glaring at the littlest villain in the room and turned to face Slade, who towered over the young teen with an overwhelming air of authority.

"I'm going out for a while. Red and the others are going to watch you until I return." The mercenary told him.

"No!" Robin gasped, as if he'd just received the most tragic news of his life. "I don't want them!"

"Gee thanks." Red pouted sourly.

"Hush. Do not make yourself a burden, Robin. Prove to me that you are worthy of being by my side." Slade scolded lightly.

"Is he serious?" Jinx muttered into Seemore's ear.

"I don't want you to leave!" Robin tried again.

"Enough." Slade said sternly. He gave Robin a harsh look that made the boy stiffen. "You are going to stay here with them, and you are going to be perfectly behaved upon my return. Understand me?"

Robin sniffled and unhappily looked straight ahead. "Yes, Slade."

Robin's obedience combined with the overwhelming power that was emanating from the older man had the HIVE silently stunned, that is until Robin made Slade kiss his bear goodbye. He more or less just pushed his mask against the thing's head, but it was enough for Robin.

"Remember Robin, be good." Slade ordered as he exited the room.

The second he was gone, Robin pulled a pacifier out of his pocket and popped it in his mouth. Red nudged Gizmo, meeting the eyes of the others and nodding towards the problematic object. The criminals all nodded back in response before spreading out around the room. The first offender would be Gizmo, since he'd wanted it so bad.

He watched Robin take a seat on the couch and grab one of his coloring books off of the coffee table, his pacifier bobbing in and out as he selected a few colors from his crayon box to start with.

"Hey!" He grabbed the coloring book out from under the teen's hand and threw it over his shoulder before glaring up at Robin. "What do you think you're doing?"

Robin frowned, a bit confused. "I'm colo-

"Shut up." Gizmo interrupted. "I didn't give you permission to talk. He got closer, narrowing his eyes before taking hold of the ring on Robin's pacifier and yanking it right out of his mouth. "What's this, you're binky?" He cooed, cackling when Robin actually nodded. "You gotta be kidding me. What a baby!"

Robin's frown became deeper as Gizmo laughed at him.

"Do you wear diapers too? Oh wait, you do!" Gizmo laughed meanly. He turned back to the boy. "I bet you can't even-huh?" He stopped mid-sentence when he found Robin with another pacifier lodged firmly between his lips. "Wha…?" He glanced down at the pacifier in his hand to make sure Robin hadn't stolen it back. "Where did you get that?"

"Seriously, Gizmo?" Jinx scoffed. "Acting like a total spaz isn't going to get us anywhere in this." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Why must I do everything myself?" She positioned herself right in front of Robin and pushed on his chest under his back hit the couch. "Look." She said bluntly. "You're fifteen, not two. Stop embarrassing yourself. Get rid of the pacifier, or I'll make you."

Robin's eyes narrowed. Now he understood what this was about. "No."

"No?" Jinx repeated. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Robin nodded, hugging his bear to his chest.

"Very well." Jinx shrugged. Standing up straight, she turned to the others. "Red, you go get the stashes from the nursery. Bring them in here. Seemore, go with him and use your x-ray vision to make sure he doesn't have any other hiding places." She turned to Robin, who was looking much more worried now and smirked evilly. "Last chance, Daddy's boy."

When Robin still refused, she merely flashed him a malicious grin and motioned for Gizmo to come over.

"Gizmo, you have your lasers on you, right?" Jinx asked.

"Duh, you know tha-

"Good." She cut him off, maintaining eye contact with Robin at all times. "We're going to need it."

* * *

When Slade returned, the entire lair smelled like burnt rubber. He smirked and shook his head. He knew it would never work. "Well?" He asked when he spotted the group on the couch. "Has he been converted?"

Red scowled at him. "It can't be done in such a short time. This is a slow but powerful process."

"Yes, yes, so what  _did_  happen then?"

"We destroyed both of his stashes. Every pacifier melted into disuse; all fifty seven of them." Jinx replied sourly.

"Yeah, what the hell, Slade?" Red added. "You think you bought the kid enough binkies?"

Slade simply shrugged. "So where is he now?"

"In his nursery, sulking. He stopped crying a while ago so I think he'll eventually get over it." Red replied.

Slade nodded and proceeded down the hall to the nursery. He peeked inside and found Robin hunched over his toys in the center of the room and resisted the urge to feel guilt of any sort. This was good for him. If he let this go he'd get bad teeth or grow up and still be using them.

Still, Slade couldn't help feeling like getting rid of them was a mistake. All those mornings that Slade would come into the nursery and Robin, his sweet adorable Robin with his sleepy blue eyes and soft lips that kept moving back and forth even for a few seconds after he'd pulled the binky out. His baby; his innocent, trusting, vulnerable little boy...

Slade stepped into the room. "Robin?" He called softly. When he got no reply, he stepped closer and noticed the soft, even breaths that were drawn in and out of Robin's nose. Slade immediately recognized it as the sound of Robin sleeping. He carefully picked him up. Robin did still get sleepy in the afternoons once in a while. Perhaps he had been weaned off of nap time to quickly, or maybe he just needed an earlier bedtime.

He carried him over to the changing table, a pull-up would suffice for a short nap, and gently laid him down, getting a good look at his sleeping face for the first time. What he saw made him stiffen, and then sigh in defeat.

What the hell, at least the shield was orange.

 


	33. Baby Got Bat

"Okay, we need to talk." Red said one afternoon in August.

"Can you wait? I'm busy." Slade murmured in reply.

"It's about Robin." Red replied.

Slade sighed and closed out a window on his computer before turning around in his chair. "What seems to be the issue?"

Red pulled his mask off and took a seat on the couch. "Have you noticed a change in Robin's behavior lately?"

"Of course. He's maturing and his social skills are-

"No." Red interrupted. "I'm not talking about that."

"Then if you would please tell me what you are talking about so I can get back to my work." Slade glowered impatiently.

"Come on, Slade. We both know the signs. Robin's needy, attached to you, giving you gifts…he's on his third box of crayons what with all of the pictures he draws you every day."

"Hmm, we are running out of refrigerator space." Slade mused.

"Face it, Slade. Robin's got the hots for you… in a weird teenage-toddler way."

"I'm not surprised." Slade shrugged before turning back to his screen. "I knew it would happen eventually."

Red sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You planned this, didn't you?"

"Well I certainly knew it was a possible outcome. Reliance on someone for long periods of time in isolation is very likely to lead to infatuation." Slade shrugged.

"And you're…what? Going to set him straight? Marry him?"

The mercenary chuckled. "Don't be silly. Robin still possesses the psyche of a child. What we have here is some harmless childhood crush."

"Well what about later on?" Red demanded. "What about when he's back to his normal mindset and the crush turns into gross teenage lust?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Slade replied.

"We? What makes you think I'll be around for that train wreck?" Red asked.

"Because you need my protection  _and_ my financing. Now go get Robin up from his nap. He's not even supposed to be taking those anymore." Slade ordered.

"He was cranky. If you'd been there, you would be praising me right now." Red huffed. He turned and headed down the hall to Robin's room, leaving Slade alone once more.

Slade turned back around and pulled up the GPS he had been studying. Up in the far corner, a red spot blinked like a small, nagging itch in the corner of Slade's mind. He'd known this would happen before he even started his project. In fact, he was surprised that it had taken this long in the first place. Slade sighed and narrowed his eye. Robin couldn't have picked a better time to express romantic feelings for him. If that small red dot on his maps was really who he thought it was, then Robin's love would be the icing on top of a most delicious cake when it finally came down to it.

* * *

"So…I don't have to go to Hive Academy?" Robin asked. It was late, at least ten at night but Robin wasn't tired. Ever since September had started, he'd been having trouble sleeping with the thought of being sent away to Hive any day.

"No, Robin." Slade shook his head. "Your performance over the past month has been exceptionally satisfactory. I feel that our one on one instruction will be a much better use of our valuable time than what the teachers at Hive can do."

Robin smiled brightly, his shoulders slumping as if relieved of a heavy burden. "Thank you, Slade. I'll train so hard for you. I'll get up earlier and practice longer…whatever you want."

"As if I'd expect anything less from you." He replied. "Did you brush your teeth?"

Robin nodded quickly as he pushed down his pants, stepping out of them and dropping them in his hamper. Then, tugging the front of his shirt down, he waited for Slade to grab a pull-up from the pack on his dresser. The criminal looked at him and held up the training pants. "We work on this, too." He added sternly. Blushing lightly, Robin nodded and held onto the man's shoulders long enough for him to slip his feet through the leg holes. Slade tugged the pampers up his thighs and made sure it fit snug around his hips. To the boy's surprise, he was suddenly scooped up over Slade's shoulder and he let out a delighted squeal.

"You're a big boy now, Robin. No more accidents, right?" Slade asked, tickling his feet.

"No more!" Robin shrieked happily. "No more!"

"Good. Otherwise I'm getting the alarm." Slade warned.

Robin whined in distaste, tugging his blankets up over him.

"Exactly. Why don't you use the toilet before bed?" Slade suggested.

"Don't have to." Robin pouted, but one look from the man sent him running to the bathroom.

"You're a powerful force, Robin. A fighter. What would your enemies say if they knew you're still wetting your bed?" Slade called. Something gave him the idea that Robin had struggled with bedwetting the first time around and considering it from a villainous standpoint gave the mercenary a sick kind of pleasure. If only he'd known things like this a year ago. He could have driven the boy wild.

"Done!" Robin announced, adjusting his pull up and clambering back into bed. He grabbed his bear and nestled under the covers. "G'night!"

Slade took a step closer and surveyed him for a moment. Then he held out his hand and cleared his throat.

Sighing, Robin pulled the pacifier out from under his pillow and placed it in Slade's palm, his cheeks reddening with guilt.

"Really, Robin? You're much, much too big for binkies now." Slade sighed disapprovingly. "No boy your age would ever dream of using a pacifier."

"I know, I know." Robin muttered, getting more and more ashamed by the minute. He looked like he was trying to come up with yet another excuse for still hoarding pacifiers after all these weeks, but in the end he simply burrowed further under his sheets.

"Go to sleep, and if I find another pacifier, no dessert for a week." Slade warned. "I'll be checking."

Robin nodded quickly. "Good night, Slade. Love you."

Slade exhaled quietly and gently brushed the hair away from Robin's eyes. "I love you too, baby bird."

At the sound of that, Robin glanced up and a small smile touched his lips before turning over onto his pillow.

* * *

"You wanted to chat with me?" Slade asked, looking calmly into the camera.

"Don't act like you don't know what this is about." He said gruffly. "Where is he?"

"You're going to have to be a little more specific if you want me to understand what it is you desire."

"Bullshit! What did you do to Robin?" Batman snarled, pounding his fist on the screen in front of him.

"Please relax. I have no interest in trying to hold up a conversation if you're just going to yell into the microphone." Slade replied.

"I have the entire Justice League behind me. It's in your best interest to surrender him." Batman growled.

"Well I have an assortment of weapons behind  _me._  And if they try anything, then the boy dies." Slade watched curiously as the man's eye twitched from under the dark cowl. Folding his hands in front of him, he leaned forward in his seat. "Please try to understand that we share common ground. You desperately want your sidekick back, and I definitely do not plan to give away my apprentice any time soon."

"He's not your apprentice." Batman barked.

"Why don't I go ask Robin what he thinks?" Slade asked. He knew he was taunting, but something about the dark man on his computer screen made it hard not to gloat.

"He's there? Is he okay? What have you done to him?"

"What makes you think I've done anything to him?" Slade inquired.

"You don't really think I haven't been in contact with the Titans. Whatever psycho-manipulation you've done to him, the League has more resources than them. You will not come out victorious in this." Batman said.

"Slade?"

Hearing the soft voice, Slade turned to see Robin standing across the room in the doorway. He turned back, relishing in the sight of the dark knight's astonished expression. "I think I already have." He chuckled lowly before closing out the screen. However, he neglected to turn off the camera so that the bat could watch him cross the room and scoop him up into his arms. Robin wrapped his arms around his neck and buried his face in his neck, making a surge of triumph push through his nerves. He didn't need to look at a screen to know that Batman's eyes were glued to his monitor, drinking in every second of his sidekick's surrender to the other side.

"Why are you awake, Robin?" Slade asked, stroking the soft black hair atop the boy's head. He could practically hear Batman going ballistic all the way from Gotham.

"Wet the bed." Robin mumbled into the side of his mask.

Slade sighed. "Let's go clean up, then. Go straight to the bathroom and take that pull up off in the bathtub."

Robin nodded and hugged him tighter as he was carried away from the camera, out of the room, and into the darkness of the hallway.


End file.
